I stared at the digitized bank records, the sheer audacity of the numbers making me nauseous. “He convinced the board that money was for aggressive reputation management after your grandfather died.”
“He bought her loyalty with your inheritance,” Leo replied coldly. “Tomorrow morning, with you locked in a psychiatric facility, Julian planned to present a petition for emergency conservatorship. Natalie’s PR team has a press release drafted, claiming you’ve tragically stepped back from public life. They are going to erase you.”
I looked at my reflection in the darkened window. I wasn’t wearing a stolen gown or borrowed jewels. I was wearing a sharply tailored, midnight-black power suit, a white silk blouse, and low, soundless heels. I slipped my father’s heavy gold signet ring onto my index finger. The metal was cold and unforgiving.
“He forgot one crucial detail,” I whispered, the realization hardening my spine into steel.
“What?”
“He forgot my father hated him.”
The Grand Meridian Hotel loomed ahead, a towering beacon of obnoxious wealth, surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi flashes and valet attendants. We bypassed the red carpet, slipping through the loading docks utilizing Leo’s forged vendor credentials.
