Chapter 230
“I need you to save my brother,” Julian whispered. “Ethan. He’s reckless. He’s in love with you. And when I die, the wolves will come for him just like they came for you.”
Skye stared at him. “You want me to babysit Ethan?”
“I want you to marry him,” Julian said.
The car hit a bump. Skye dropped the photos.
“Excuse me?”
“Not a real marriage,” Julian said quickly, catching her expression. “A corporate alliance. A merger of Vance and Sterling on paper. If you are his legal wife, you control the family trust as regent until he matures. You keep him safe from his own stupidity, and from the vultures on our board.”
Skye looked out the window. The city blurred past.
“You’re asking me to trade one prison for another,” she said.
“I’m asking you to trade a cage for a fortress,” Julian replied. “Think about it, Skye. Because Liam isn’t done. He’s desperate. And a desperate man will burn down the city to save himself.”
The next morning, the sun rose over a city that felt like it was holding its breath. Skye woke in the guest wing of the Vance estate. She had accepted Julian’s offer of sanctuary, but not the marriage proposal. Not yet.
She went down to breakfast. Julian was already at the table, reading a newspaper. He looked worse than he had the night before. His skin was translucent.
“The SEC has opened a formal inquiry,” Julian said without looking up. “Based on an ‘anonymous tip’ regarding your father’s involvement in the shell companies. Liam moves fast.”
Skye poured herself coffee. Her hand was steady. “Let them investigate. I have the original documents proving the signatures are forged.”
“They don’t care about the truth, Skye. They care about the headline.” Julian tapped the paper. “Sterling Patriarch Under Investigation.” The stock will tank.”
Suddenly, Skye’s phone rang. Not the burner-her official phone. It was Ms. Davies.
“Skye,” Ms. Davies’s voice was tight, high-pitched. “You need to turn on the news. Channel 4.”
Skye grabbed the remote and turned on the TV in the corner of the dining room.
A news helicopter was circling over a construction site in Brooklyn. The Kensington Global “Future Living” project-one of the sites Director Liu had seized the night before.
Smoke was rising from the site. A massive crane had collapsed, slicing through a partially built apartment block like a knife through cake.
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“Oh my God,” Skye whispered.
The ticker tape read: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE AT KENSINGTON SITE. 3 CONFIRMED DEAD. 12 INJURED.
“It wasn’t sabotage,” Skye said quickly, looking at Julian. “I ordered the seizure, but I didn’t order this.”
“I know,” Julian said calmly. “This is negligence. Liam cut costs months ago. He bought cheap steel from a supplier I blacklisted years ago. When your team moved in to seize the assets, the stress on the substandard supports caused the collapse.”
On the screen, Liam Kensington arrived at the scene. He looked frantic, wearing a hard hat that looked ridiculous with his suit. A crowd of angry workers and family members surrounded him.
“Murderer!” someone screamed.
An egg flew from the crowd and smashed against Liam’s shoulder. Then a rock.
Liam stumbled back, shielded by his security. But the look on his face… it was pure terror.
“This is the end of him,” Julian said. “Negligence causing death. That’s not a fine. That’s manslaughter.”
Skye watched as Liam was shoved into a police car-not arrested yet, but evacuated for his safety.
“The public will blame me,” Skye said, realizing the trap. “I seized the site last night. Technically, Sterling Corp was the owner when it fell.”