Chapter 76
Chapter 76:
“Thank you, Beatrice,” Skye said. She didn’t call her Grandmother.
She turned to Liam. He looked stripped. Naked. The trust fund was his armor, his identity. Without it, who was he? Just a man in a suit he couldn’t afford to dry clean.
“Goodbye, Liam,” Skye said.
She walked out the door, down the steps, and into the waiting car.
“To The Spire, Felix,” she said.
As the car pulled away, she saw Liam running out onto the porch, shouting something lost to the wind. She didn’t look back.
Inside the Manor, Liam stood trembling. Beatrice stood behind him.
“Fix this,” she warned. “The Global Tech Summit is next week. If you show up alone—or worse, with that Miller creature—I will remove you as CEO p>
Liam drove to the only place he had left: the Starlight Motel, on the outskirts of town. He knocked on room 104.
Seraphina opened the door. She looked wretched. She was wearing a neck brace, and her arm was in a sling—genuine injuries from the crash that she had been milking for sympathy. But the bruise on her cheek was real, and her hair was unwashed.
“Liam!” she cried, throwing her good arm around him. “Did you bring money? The motel manager says we have to pay by noon or he’s calling the cops p>
Liam walked into the dingy room. It smelled of stale smoke and desperation. Clothes were scattered everywhere—the Gucci bags she had bought her now looked out of place against the peeling wallpaper.
“I… I can’t,” Liam whispered.
“What?” Seraphina pulled back. Her eyes, usually wide and innocent, narrowed. “What do you mean you can’t p>
“Beatrice froze the trust,” Liam said, sitting on the lumpy bed. “Everything. I have my salary, but… it’s not enough for the debts p>
Seraphina’s face twisted. “You said you were a king! You said you had millions p>
аl 𝖿𝘳𝖾e 𝗼𝗻 𝘣𝖾.𝘤о𝗺
“I do! I will!” Liam pleaded. “I just need time. I need to fix things with the board. With the Summit p>
He looked at her. “Sera, you have to be patient. We have to live quietly for a bit p>
Seraphina looked at him with pure venom. But she had nowhere else to go. Her mother had already gambled away the last transfer.
“Fine,” she spat. “But you better fix this, Liam. Or I’m going to the press p>
Liam put his head in his hands. He was trapped.
The next three days were torture—of Liam’s own making.
He was living out of a suitcase in a mid-range hotel near the office, having been effectively banished from the Manor by his own pride and Beatrice’s scorn. Seraphina was still at the motel, calling him every hour with fresh demands.
Skye, meanwhile, was operating from The Spire. She sat in the command center Alistair had set up. Monitors displayed stock tickers, news feeds, and the internal communications of Kensington Global.
“He’s bleeding,” Harper said, pointing to a screen. “He’s trying to close the deal with the Japanese investors, but they’re hesitant. They know about the separation. They don’t trust a CEO who can’t keep his house in order p>