It was a text from an unknown number, containing only an image of a black sedan parked outside my daughter’s nursery.

Then, the elevator doors at the end of the hall dinged open, and my father’s assistant ran out, her face entirely white.

“Evelyn, there is a car at the nursery,” she gasped, leaning against the wall for support.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“The sedan in the photo?” I asked, my fingers tightening around the cold metal of my phone.

“Your father’s security team intercepted them,” she said, holding up a hand to calm me.

“They blocked the vehicle at the gates of the private clinic.”

“The driver has already been detained by the local police.”

I let out a long breath, my vision clearing.

The threat was a desperate, final move from one of Nolan’s creditors.

But it was over.

In the days that followed, the legal machinery moved with a cold, grinding speed.

The evidence Sarah gathered was undeniable.

Pierce Holdings was forced into involuntary liquidation by the end of the week.

The court appointed a receiver to seize the company’s assets.