“He has no intention of letting you run Mercer Development.”

“He plans to declare bankruptcy for the main branch once the transition paper is signed.”

“He wants to leave you with a shell of a company and a mountain of debt,” she added.

I stared at the numbers on the page.

My fingers went cold against the paper.

“And your mother knows about this?” I asked.

Rachel nodded slowly.

“She encouraged it,” she said.

“She told him it was the only way to keep the family money away from your children.”

A quiet anger settled deep in my chest.

I looked at the kitchen window, where the dark sea was visible only as a vast void.

My children were sleeping upstairs, safe and dreaming.

“Thank you, Rachel,” I said softly.

“I know what this cost you.”

“I just want it to be over, Clara,” she said, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.

“I want my family to stop hurting people.”

Rachel stayed the night in the guest room.

Early Saturday morning, I called Robert Hayes.

He answered on the second ring, his voice crisp despite the early hour.