“It’s a forgery, Julian,” Miranda said, stepping closer to him. “Don’t listen to them. They want to ruin us.”

“The federal court has already verified the ink and the signatures, Mrs. Sterling,” the marshal at the door said.

The room was silent except for the low hum of the generator.

The wind rattled the glass of the French doors.

“Valerie,” Nathaniel said, turning to me. “As the sole living heir of Elias Cross, you are the primary shareholder of Sterling Enterprises.”

He handed me a heavy fountain pen.

“You need to sign the registry to assume your legal role,” Nathaniel said.

I looked at the pen in my hand.

It was cold and heavy.

For months, I had polished the furniture in this very room.

I had wiped the dust off the books and emptied the trash cans.

I had been the invisible woman in the gray uniform.

Now, the entire room was waiting for me to write my name.

“If you sign that, you destroy everything we built,” Miranda whispered.

Her voice was no longer angry.

It was desperate.

“You didn’t build it, Miranda,” I said.