Chapter 8 - THE RECKONING AT THE COUNTER
Mercer hesitated for half a second, glancing terrified at Helena.
Helena glared at him, her eyes delivering an unmistakable threat of corporate execution. "Touch that safe, Daniel, and you're fired before the sun comes up."
Ethan didn't even turn his head. "Touch that safe, Daniel, or I will have federal auditors and my legal team standing in this lobby by six in the morning, and you will spend the next five years answering questions about corporate embezzlement."
Mercer’s face went completely gray. Without another word, he turned on his heel and sprinted down the private hallway toward the executive offices.
Helena’s pristine composure finally showed a deep, jagged crack. She took a step toward Ethan, her voice dropping into a desperate, angry whisper.
"You think you're protecting Sarah’s memory?" Helena hissed. "Sarah wanted this company sold! She knew you were spending more time on the road with your club than managing thirty hotels! She was preparing to transfer the mountain assets to the board before her accident!"
"That's a lie," Ethan said quietly.
"Is it?" Helena challenged, pulling a sealed manila envelope from the side pocket of her coat. "She signed the preliminary intent papers three weeks before she died, Ethan. I have the original signature right here."
Ethan stared at the manila envelope.
For a brief, fleeting moment, a shadow of pain crossed his rugged features—a ghost of the profound grief he had carried across thousands of miles of open highway since losing his wife two years earlier.
Lily shifted in his arms, her small pink shoes resting against his belt. She opened her brown eyes, reached up with a tiny hand, and gently touched the stubble along Ethan’s jawline.
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"Daddy..." Lily whispered softly, holding her mother's stuffed rabbit up toward him. "Mommy said the red roses are always the truth. Remember?"
Ethan looked down at his daughter's innocent face, then turned his gaze back to the marble counter—where the bouquet of twelve deep-red roses lay resting under the warm light of the crystal chandeliers.
