He spat in my face in front of 23 relatives and called me worthless. Then I opened the folder he was laughing at and showed him the title beneath my signature: CEO of the $50 million company that had just bought his employer.

“You might own the paper, Claire,” Ryan sneered, a dark, wicked laugh escaping his throat, “but you don't know how the real world works. You think you’re the only one with access to the servers?”

My mind raced. The physical audit documents in my folder were devastating, but the master digital ledgers—the encrypted files containing the original wire receipts, the shell company bank routing numbers, and the forged board signatures—were stored on a localized, air-gapped server at Harrington’s corporate headquarters downtown.

Ryan had sent someone to physical destroy the servers before the IRS and federal marshals could seize them at dawn.

“Tyler,” Ryan barked, snapping his fingers at my weeping cousin. “Get your coat. We’re leaving.”

“Ryan, wait!” Madison screamed, grabbing his arm. “Where are you going?! What about the police?!”

“Shut up, Madison!” Ryan shoved her hand off his arm with zero hesitation, showing his true colors to the woman he had claimed to adore. “Your sister just ruined my life! I’m going to make sure she doesn't have a damn thing to hand over to the prosecutors!”

Ryan and Tyler sprinted toward the front foyer, slamming the heavy oak front door behind them so hard that the glass panels rattled in the frame.

Aunt Sarah burst into hysterical tears, collapsing into a chair, while Madison stood frozen in the hallway, staring at the front door as if she had just watched her entire world disintegrate.

My mother finally found her voice, stepping toward me with trembling hands. “Claire... oh, my sweet girl... please, call off the police! Speak to Ryan! He’s just confused—!”

“Mom,” I said, cutting her off with a voice so sharp it made her freeze mid-step. “Don't touch me.”

I tapped my phone screen, activating the direct encrypted line to my private security team.

“Marcus,” I spoke into the phone, walking out toward the driveway where my own sleek black town car was idling. “Execute Lockdown Protocol Omega at the headquarters immediately. Ryan Vance and Tyler Mercer are heading to the main building to destroy Server Room 3.”

“Already on it, CEO Bennett,” Marcus’s deep, calm voice replied through the speaker. “We locked down the perimeter five minutes ago when the heat sensors tripped. The local police financial crimes unit is already on site. We’re just waiting for you to sign the formal entry authorization.”

“I’m ten minutes away,” I said. “Keep the cameras rolling.”

I stepped into the back seat of my town car. Before the driver could pull out of the driveway, my sister Madison ran out onto the gravel, soaking in the light rain, banging her manicured nails against my window.

I rolled down the glass three inches.

“Claire! Please!” Madison sobbed, her mascara running down her cheeks. “Please don't do this to Ryan! If he goes to jail, I lose the house! I lose everything! We’re sisters!”

I looked at Madison—the sister who, twenty minutes ago, had laughed while her husband spit in my face and called me worthless.