Claire stared at me, her mouth open.

“That was our family inheritance,” Claire said. “Father left us that money.”

“Your father left you nothing but three million dollars in gambling debts and a failing shipping company,” I said.

The music from the ballroom seemed to fade into the background, replaced by the heavy, rhythmic sound of the tide crashing against the rocks below the terrace.

“The Mercer family fortune is a myth,” I said.

“Stop it!” Vivian hissed, taking a step toward me.

Mr. Han immediately moved to block her, his tall frame solid and unyielding.

“Let her speak, Mother,” Daniel said, his voice suddenly quiet.

He looked at me, a strange, hollow expression in his eyes.

“What did my father do, Maya?”

“He made a deal,” I said. “A private contract with my grandfather.”

I reached into my bag once more and pulled out a smaller, older document.

The paper was yellowed at the edges, the ink slightly faded but perfectly legible.

“Your father signed this agreement in exchange for a twenty-million-dollar life raft,” I said.

I held it up so Daniel could see the signatures.