People who don’t blink unless it benefits them. People who would tear apart the world for profit. People I once thought I was exactly like.
My father clears his throat, a warning disguised as authority.
“Now that Knox is here, we can start the meeting.” He nods to me, handing over control.
I lean back in my chair, slowly, letting my gaze sweep the room.
I take in the eager expressions staring back at me—expectant, hungry, self-satisfied.
Last night, I realized my biggest problem wasn’t salvaging my name.
It was the fact that I had to.
The fact that after so many years, I still had something to prove.
That was the problem.
I like to believe I have so much control, but with the exception of my family, I’ve allowed these people to hold too much power over me.
No more of it.
“What I have to say,” I begin, my voice calm and steady, “isn’t up for debate.”
That hooks their attention.
A ripple of tension cuts through the room, sharp enough to taste.
A few members shift in their seats, stiffening like they’re preparing for a fight they didn’t expect to face today.
My father steeples his hands, studying me with that calculating expression he’s perfected over decades.
“Go on,” he says, too smoothly. “We’re listening.”
“I’m pulling the plans for the restaurant demolition,” I announce.
Gasps break across the table like static. A few people jolt forward.
Lila Henderson mutters, “You can’t be serious.”
Dad’s jaw tightens. “Knox,” he speaks slowly, like he’s talking to a child, “that location is marked for redevelopment. It’s already been signed off. The projections?—”
“I don’t care,” I cut in.
Silence slams into the room.
Not because of the words. Because of my tone.
Because I’ve never sounded likethatin a board meeting before.
I lean forward, resting my forearms on the table. “That restaurant stays,” I continue. “It belongs to my wife and me through marriage. It stays exactly as it is. End of discussion.”
Predictably, chaos erupts. Voices overlap, and people talk over one another.
My brothers watch me.
Dorian with a spark of interest and a proud supportive smile. Levi with a raised brow. Locke with the faintest ghost of a smirk.
But my father…
