7. CLAUSE NINE

I took three steps in, but someone caught my wrist, stopping me. I turned sharply, already pulling away, but he released me before I could. His eyes moved toward the others before settling back on my face. "Whatever he brought," he paused subtly, his voice growing lower with each word, "sign nothing," he added, and I drew my brows together.

My brows twitched, but before I could ask him what he knew, he stepped back and waved me away. Slowly turning to the others, I saw them moving towards the study with Serena wheeling Grandpa's chair. The study with Serena wheeling Grandpa's chair, what the hell would happen there? I stood for a few seconds before pushing the door open and walking in.

The familiar smell of Grandpa's cigars hit me first. This old man—he is pathetically ill but still smokes. I think, "Value your life more than you do." The smell clung to every piece of furniture, and I vividly remembered sitting here countless afternoons while Grandpa kept complaining about his business partners.

But tonight, everyone looked like their seats were standing right over a blazing fire. Grandpa sat by the fireplace, and the lawyer occupied the chair opposite him, with documents neatly arranged on his desk.

I closed the door behind me and watched Serena straighten up as her smile returned. "Kiera, you are here. We were just about to begin," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

"Why are you sitting here, Pa?" I asked the old man in the wheelchair, keeping my voice low. Grandpa looked at me, his face more wrinkled with exhaustion.

"Because apparently, your sister has decided I can no longer move around my own house without assistance," he rasped, his face tightening around the pipe between his lips.

Serena's smile faltered, and she stood up. "Pa..." "I was only trying to help," she whined.

"I never asked you to." The room fell silent.

I turned to Serena, but she lowered her eyes, not before I caught the flash of irritation in them. There it was. Stupid bitch. I cursed and gripped the handles of Grandpa's wheelchair, pulling it away from her.

A sharp pain rose through my lower stomach, and my breath caught. The room tilted while my fingers tightened around the handles, my lips parting and my eyes widening.

I swallowed the sound threatening to escape me. I had dismissed this same pain as exhaustion in the past, but now it was sharp enough to make my eyes sting.

I remained still, waiting for it to pass. Grandpa glanced at me. "Are you alright?" he asked calmly.

"I am fine, Pa," I answered quietly. I watched his eyes narrow as his hand came up to lower his pipe.

"Can we proceed? We have a lot to discuss tonight." Catherine rapped her fingers against the folder on the desk.

I released the wheelchair abruptly, turned to her, and nodded. She gestured toward an empty chair beside the lawyer, but I remained standing, and her jaw tightened.

"Miss Lancaster, this meeting concerns the condition attached to your appointment as president," the lawyer said. I looked at Grandpa, and he nodded.

"Miss Kiera Lancaster is the sole heir to the Lancaster holdings, but her shares will be fully transferred twelve months after the date of the formal appointment," the lawyer read from the will, and I stared at him with my jaw dropped.

"The formal appointment..." The lawyer read from the will, and I stared at him with my jaw dropped.

"Excuse me," I said, and the lawyer looked up. "You are telling me I have been appointed to a chair with an expiration date?" A short, disbelieving laugh escaped me.

Catherine's mouth tightened, but the lawyer didn't react. "Your appointment remains subject to the terms outlined in the will, in particular, Clause Nine." He turned the pages, and I watched Catherine lean forward slightly, just the way anyone would when a moment they had been waiting for finally arrived.

"It states that the appointed president can be removed if a majority of the board determines that her conduct has caused or will cause harm to the Lancaster name!" I stared at him, my lips parted, then turned to Catherine. She stared at me with something that almost resembled sympathy.

"Oh, Kiera, dear," she began, "you need to understand that our family cannot afford another public scandal," she said sweetly.

My jaw tightened. She hadn't said it, but her expression had already stated it: Alex, my marriage, the pregnancy, everything.

I took a step towards her. "Which recent scandal are you referring to?" Her gaze didn't waver, and I took another step forward. "I want to hear you say it, Catherine."

Catherine glanced at her daughter before returning her attention to me. "Your marriage is still legally binding, Kiera, and your current circumstances could be damaging if they eventually get out."

My stomach tightened as my legs wobbled. Fear washed over me because what she said was obvious and true, but I forced my face to remain calm.

"You knew about this?" I asked, and the old man nodded. I burst out laughing, swaying slightly.

Of course he knew. It was his will. "Don't mistake my condition for permission to interfere, Catherine," he said while looking at her.

"Grandpa, please, we're all here because we want the best for you," Serena said, but Grandpa only glared at her.

"Sit down because you are not helping," he said, and my lips twitched. My old man still has some fire in him, calling his bitchy granddaughter useless without using the word.

The lawyer dropped some documents and stood up. "Miss Lancaster, we need your signature on this," he said, and I picked up the pen. The ink stained the sheet, but I only made a dot before Ermund's warning came ringing back in my head.

"Leave it there," I said, and Catherine's eyes narrowed.

"Refusing to cooperate won't change the terms," she said, turning to the old man instead. His brows raised in a question.

"I am just tired. Perhaps I need silence instead of irrelevant meetings," I said. His dry lips twitched, but the amusement vanished the next second as cold metal touched my skin. A key. I looked at his face.

"Don't sign the lawyer's copy," he said, and Ermund appeared from around the corner, wheeling him away. Serena clenched her fists and stomped her foot.

"Kiera," Catherine said beside me. "What did Grandpa give you?" she asked, and I shook my head, moving away.

Before I could complete the step, a palm crossed my cheek, and a hot sting spread across it. My head shifted to the side. "I am your mother, Kiera. I guess I didn't teach you not to lie when you were young," she half-yelled.

"Now open your hand."