“If I sign this, the board will know within forty-eight hours,” he said.

“Let them know,” I said. “They should see who really holds the technology.”

“They will panic,” he said. “The stock will drop.”

“That sounds like a King Enterprises problem,” I said. “Not mine.”

He stared at my face, looking for any sign of hesitation.

I kept my expression perfectly still.

I had spent five years learning how to mask my feelings in his presence.

It was a skill he had taught me himself.

“You won’t survive on your own in this market, Ava,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction.

“I already have the funding lined up,” I said.

He blinked, surprised.

“From whom?” he asked.

“People who value what my father actually designed,” I said. “Not people who just want to license it to oil conglomerates.”

I leaned forward, placing my palms flat on the desk.

“Sign the paper, Elias.”

He pressed the gold tip of the pen to the paper.

He paused for three long seconds.

Then, with a quick, practiced motion, he wrote his signature across the bottom of the document.