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I do as he asks. I’m entirely numb. My thoughts as frozen as if encased in a block of ice.

Aaron pauses, and I know that look. He’s gathering himself. “Corinth Capital has launched a hostile bid for King Logistics. Forty-two dollars a share, all cash. They’re pitching it as a ‘rescue mission’ to save the subsidiary from our ‘toxic leadership.’”

“What?” I croak.

King Logistics is one of the pillars that keeps our empire sturdy. It’s the infrastructure that holds everything together. If they take Logistics, the rest of the King Corporation will crumble.

“They went public with a statement ten minutes ago.” The look in my brother’s deep blue eyes is bleak. “They’re calling us—calling you—unfit. They’re saying the internal scandals have made the company structurally unsound. The board is already fielding calls. They’re panicking, Sebastian. They want an emergency session at noon. They’re talking about a forced leave of absence.”

“No! No, no, no!”

My chest is tightening and my lungs labor for breath, similar to what happened the other night on the beach. When my hands begin to go numb, I know I have to get out of here. The walls are closing in, and I feel like the library is going to topple down on top of us. I shove the phone back into Aaron’s hand, ignoring his questioning look and Tom’s shouts of confusion.

I run.

I run until I’m standing on the dunes overlooking the crashing waves. They are foreshadowing the storm that is about to hit and destroy everything in its path.

The sand muffles Isabella’s soft footfalls, but I see her out of the corner of my eye as she climbs the dune toward me. She watches me hesitantly.

“Don’t,” I snap, my voice cracking. “Don’t feed me platitudes. Don’t pretend like everything is going to be okay.”

“Is it true?”

I turn to face her. The look in her eyes is what finally breaks me. It isn’t an accusation, it’s worry. She wants to believe me, but the world is screaming at her that I’m a liar. Her history with people who have let her down is telling her it has to be true.

“I didn’t do this. You know I didn’t.”

Her eyes flash. She doesn’t know me well enough yet to be certain that I’m different from the others who have lied to her, to know that I’m telling the truth beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“Please, Isabella. You know how hard I’ve been working to figure out what happened. How hard we’ve been working.”

Every news station, every blog, every morning host is screaming that I’m guilty. But for some reason, the only one whose opinion matters is standing right in front of me. My world is crumbling, and I need this woman to understand I am the man she thinks I am, the man she pulled out from behind the mask. Her belief in me is the only thing that matters.

“I believe you,” she says softly. She steps closer, the rising wind whipping her hair out behind her. “So how do we fix this?”

I pull Isabella into my arms, grateful beyond words when she doesn’t resist. She melts into me, and I sigh. “I don’t know.”

For the first time in my life, I feel entirely lost, and I cannot see a way out. I’ve reached the crossroads, the moment I have to choose who I’m going to be. Do I continue to be the man Isabella thinks I can be, the man who wants to do good? Or do I become the man my father wants me to be, brutal, cold, and uncaring, a man who does whatever is necessary to keep what is his?

I pull Isabella closer to me, burying my face in her hair. I know this is the moment I have to choose between being an honest man and being a King.

28

ISABELLA

The leather of the passenger seat is cool against my skin, but the air inside the cabin feels pressurized, like we’re descending too fast in a plane that’s lost both engines. The outskirts of the countryside blur into a smear of charcoal grays and muted greens through the rain-soaked windows as the sun dips low behind the cloud-choked horizon.

The brewing storm broke in the early afternoon, crashing over the house, a tidal wave of wind, rain, and thunder, obscuring the beautiful ocean view. It was similar to how the terrible news overshadowed the long weekend we had in the Hamptons.

Together with Aaron, we debated until early evening before deciding that the only thing to do was to go back to the city.

I keep my gaze fixed on the window, where I can watch the reflection of Sebastian’s profile. He’s staring straight ahead, his jaw tight enough to snap a wire. He hasn’t looked at me since we left the estate.

I want to believe him. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to just reach across the console, take his hand, and let the warmth of his touch quiet the sirens in my head. When he says he didn’t leak the documents or authorize the bribe to the DOJ official, his voice has the tone of absolute, unshakeable truth.

But I grew up in a house built on that same tone, only to find out the foundation was made of glass and lies. I’ve seen this movie before, and I usually end up bleeding in the final act.

“You’re doing it again,” Sebastian says, his voice raspy.