10| THE HOUSE IS BURNING

Cassian's Pov

Gerald Finn was already sweating when I walked into the boardroom.

He was sitting at the far end of the table with a glass of water he had not touched, his tie slightly off-centre. I had called the meeting for seven in the morning. He had shown up at six fifty-eight, which told me everything I needed to know about his guilt.

I sat down across from him and did not say anything for a moment.

"Mr Thorne," he started.

"You spoke to V. Intl," I said.

"I want to clarify.."

"Gerald," I said. "I have the call logs. I have the emails. I have a signed letter of intent dated three weeks ago that has your signature on it and V. Intl's letterhead at the top. So do not sit there and tell me you want to clarify something. Just tell me why."

He put his hands flat on the table. "The board has been concerned," he said. "For several months now. The supplier losses, the contract failures, the stock movement. People are worried, Cassian. I was approached and I listened. That is all I did."

"You listened," I said.

"Yes."

"And then you signed a letter of intent with the company that has been systematically dismantling mine."

"I was exploring options," he said. "That is a board member's responsibility."

"You were selling me out," I said. "Call it what it is."

"I was protecting my investment," he said. His voice found some steadiness. "Which is also a board member's responsibility. My position in Thorne Industries represents a significant portion of my personal portfolio. When that portfolio starts bleeding, I have a right to ask questions."

"You had a right to ask me," I said. "You did not have a right to go behind my back to my competition and start exploring options."

"With respect," he said, "I went to the competition because the answers I was getting from you were not good enough."

I looked at him for a long moment. "You are finished," I said.

"Excuse me?"

"Your seat on this board," I said. "Effective immediately, it is gone. Legal will send you the documentation by end of day. You can contest it if you want to. It will cost you more than your position is worth and you will still lose."

"You cannot do this," he said. "The board charter requires a vote."

"Then call a vote," I said. "And we will see how many of the remaining members want to publicly defend the man who was having private conversations with our primary competitor." I stood up. "Have your assistant collect your things."

He stared at me. Then he picked up his water glass, finally took a drink, set it back down, and stood. "You are going to lose this, Cassian," he said.

"Everybody keeps saying that," I said. "Nobody has managed it yet."

He left.

I stood in the boardroom for a few minutes after the door closed. Then my phone rang, it was Marcus.

"Sir," Marcus said. "There is a situation at home. Mrs Thorne has been calling the office repeatedly. She says it is urgent."

"Everything is urgent with Mrs Thorne," I said.

"Yes sir," he said. "But she also said to tell you that Lexi has been speaking to journalists."

I closed my eyes for one second. Then I picked up my jacket and left.

The penthouse was loud before I even got the door fully open.

Lydia was in the sitting room in a chair with her arms crossed, wearing the expression she wore when she had been waiting long enough to build a full case against me.

"She talked to a journalist," I said.

"I talked to one person," Lexi said, still not looking up. "At a party. I did not know he was press."

"What did you say?" I said.

"Nothing bad," she said. "I just said that things have been stressful lately and that we have been dealing with some business stuff."

"That is the quote that ends up in a headline," I said. "That is exactly the kind of thing…"

"I did not know," she said.

"Close the phone," I said.

She closed the phone and put it face down on the cushion beside her. "Fine," she said.

Lydia uncrossed her arms. "We need to talk about the account," she said.

"Which account," I said.

"My account," she said. "The personal one. You said last week you would transfer the monthly amount and it has not come through."

"I am dealing with a cash flow issue," I said. "It will come through when it comes through."

"That is not an answer," she said. "I have bills. I have a membership renewal, the car service, the…"

"This affects all of us," I said.

"Differently," she said. "It affects me in the form of a frozen account and no explanation. It affects Lexi in the form of her friends asking her questions she cannot answer. It affects…"

"Mom says we should find a richer sponsor if you can't deliver anymore," Lexi said, flat and clear, without picking the phone back up.

The room went quiet.

I looked at Lydia.

She did not flinch.

"Lexi," Lydia said. "Go to your room."

"I was just repeating.."

"Room," Lydia said.

Lexi stood, picked up her phone, and walked out without looking at me once.

I stood in the sitting room with my wife across from me.

"Did you say that to her?" I said.

Lydia said nothing.

"Did you tell our daughter to look for a richer sponsor?" I said.

Lydia picked up her coffee from the side table and took a sip. "I told her to start thinking practically," she said. "Someone in this house has to."

"She is sixteen," I said.

"She is sixteen with a public profile and a future that depends on perception," Lydia said.

"Do not do that again," I said. "Do not involve the children in."

"You involved them the moment you let this get out of hand," she said. "I am just the one saying what everyone in this house is already thinking."

I looked at her for a long moment. Then I walked to the window and stood there with my back to her and said nothing at all. Because there was nothing left to say that would change anything.