“Go back to the hospital, ensure Miss Bennett receives the best medical care money can buy, and then let her go.”

“I can’t do that,” I said.

“You must,” Croft said, his voice rising slightly for the first time.

“If you attempt to alter the boys’ birth certificates, or if you make any public declaration regarding their maternal parentage, the trust will be voided within twenty-four hours.”

“I will personally be forced to notify the board of the dissolution.”

I looked at the blue paper, feeling a strange sense of clarity washing over me.

For years, I had lived under the shadow of my father’s expectations.

I had run his company, lived in his house, and raised my boys according to his rules.

But looking at the document, I realized how little of it actually belonged to me.

“And if I don’t care about the money?” I asked quietly.

Croft let out a short, sharp laugh.

“Do not be naive, Daniel,” he said. “You have never known a day without wealth.”

“You have no idea what it means to lose everything.”