“You look stressed, Alexander.” She sips her sparkling water. “I heard there was a small scene involving a rather persistent visitor from your new girl's past.”
I stiffen. “Information travels fast.”
“We're Hammonds. Information is currency.” She sets down her glass. “The board meeting for the quarterly review is approaching. I need your proxy for the voting shares. Your father is being difficult. Let me handle the friction so you don't have to.”
I recognize the play. She wants my shares to bolster her position against Victor.
“I'm considering a different path,” I say carefully. “Giving the shares back to Victor. Reverting them. Being done with Hammond business for good.”
Helena's hand freezes mid-air. For a fraction of a second, her face animates, eyes widen and mouth agape. Then she shuts it down.
“Don't do that.” Her voice is urgent. “You've worked so hard to establish your independence. If you give those shares back, he wins. Total control.” She reaches across the table and taps my hand. Her skin is cold. “Let me handle the board. Let me be your shield.”
I pull my hand away. The wordshieldfeels wrong from her. Sounds like a cage.
“Mother, I have to go. I have a meeting.”
“Think about what I said,” she calls after me. “Your father doesn't forgive, Alexander. He only consumes.”
I walk out into the afternoon light. The Ducati gleams at the curb, waiting.
Maddox's words echo in my head.Someone who knows exactly which buttons to push.
The timing of James. Helena's sudden appearance. Victor circling.
All the threads lead back to one place.
CHAPTER 27
THE HEIR
KAIDEN
I don't call ahead.I don't wait for the secretary to announce me. I stride past the reception desk and push through the double doors to my father's office.
Victor Hammond sits behind his desk, a monument of glass and steel at his back. The Silverpoint skyline stretches behind him like a kingdom he believes he owns.
“Alexander.” He doesn't show surprise. “I wondered when you'd come.”
“Stay away from her.”
He leans back in his chair, fingers steepled. “You'll have to be more specific. I interact with many people.”
“Emma. Her ex showing up at her apartment. That was you.”
“Was it?” His expression doesn't change. “I saw the photos from the fire. You and that girl, standing in the smoke like some tragic romance. It was careless, Alexander. Your associations reflect on the stock price.”
“She's not an association. She's a person.”
“She's a distraction.” He says it like he's discussing a market correction. “A nobody from a failing firm. You could have anyone, and you choose someone so far beneath you that I had to wonder if you were doing it specifically to embarrass me.”
I step closer to his desk. “I'm not here to discuss my choices with you.”
“No, you're here to make accusations you can't prove.” He stands slowly, buttoning his jacket. “I didn't bring that man to Silverpoint. I simply ensured the path was clear if he chose to come. I wanted to see how you'd react when your little sanctuary was threatened.” His eyes meet mine. “You reacted exactly as I expected. You ran to her side like a common bodyguard.”
“I'm protecting what matters.”
“You're exposing weakness.” He walks around the desk, closing the distance between us. “Every enemy you have, every competitor, every person who wants to see ELK fail, they now know exactly how to get to you. One girl. That's all it takes.”
