Chapter Twenty-Seven — A Favor With Teeth

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Cassian Ashcroft stood just beyond the elevator doors as though he had arrived for a private dinner instead of walking into a penthouse filled with armed men, broken glass, blood, and a biological experiment that apparently involved all of us.

His gaze remained on me.

“They should have matched you with me from the beginning.”

Ronan’s hand tightened around my arm.

Not enough to hurt.

Enough to remind me that he was there.

Cassian noticed.

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“So protective.”

Ronan stepped in front of me.

“Leave.”

Cassian looked almost amused.

“You always did confuse possession with authority.”

“And you always confused arrogance with charm.”

Lucian moved closer to my side.

I looked between the three Ashcrofts.

“Someone needs to explain why there appears to be an endless supply of men from this family connected to my reproductive history.”

Cassian’s attention returned to me.

“At least you still have a sense of humor.”

“I was not joking.”

“No.”

His expression softened.

“That much I remember.”

My pulse changed.

“Remember?”

Ronan turned toward him sharply.

“You have met Adrian before.”

Cassian did not answer him.

He looked at me.

“You were seventeen.”

I stared at him.

“I would remember you.”

“You were sedated.”

The room went still.

Every part of me tightened at once.

“What did you say?”

Lucian swore quietly.

Ronan’s scent sharpened.

Cassian lifted both hands slightly.

“I did not touch you.”

“That was not my question.”

“You were brought to a private Ashcroft medical facility after your first uncontrolled heat. Cradle wanted to test your response to several Alpha profiles.”

Rage moved through me.

“You were one of them.”

“Yes.”

“And Ronan?”

“No.”

That surprised me enough to pause.

Cassian continued.

“Ronan was considered too valuable to expose until your compatibility was confirmed.”

Ronan’s face hardened.

“So they used you instead.”

“I volunteered.”

I felt sick.

“You volunteered to participate in experiments on an unconscious seventeen-year-old Omega?”

Cassian’s smile vanished.

“At the time, I believed I was participating in a medical compatibility study.”

“And when did you learn the truth?”

“Too late.”

“How convenient.”

His gaze held mine.

“I deserve that.”

Ronan moved another step forward.

“What do you want?”

Cassian looked at him.

“To prevent Cradle from making another mistake.”

“You are their replacement match.”

“According to the file.”

“That is not an answer.”

Cassian exhaled slowly.

“No. I am not here to replace you.”

One of the tactical men near the elevator shifted.

Cassian turned toward him.

“Leave.”

The man hesitated.

Cassian’s expression changed completely.

“Now.”

The tactical team lowered their weapons.

One by one, they entered the elevator.

The injured attacker Ronan had pinned against the wall looked confused.

Cassian nodded toward him.

“You too.”

Ronan did not release him.

“He stays.”

Cassian’s gaze sharpened.

“He has information.”

“So do you.”

“Yes.”

Cassian looked at me.

“And unlike him, I came here prepared to trade it.”

That caught my attention.

Ronan looked at me.

“No.”

I almost laughed.

“You do realize I am capable of deciding whether I want information.”

“I realize Cassian never gives anything away.”

Cassian smiled faintly.

“He remembers me well.”

I stepped around Ronan.

“What do you want?”

Cassian’s expression became serious.

“A favor.”

“Of course.”

“Nothing physical.”

Ronan’s jaw tightened anyway.

Cassian noticed and almost smiled again.

“I want access to Vale Dominion’s shareholder registry.”

I stared at him.

“That is your price?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because someone inside Vale Dominion has been quietly purchasing controlling positions through shell companies.”

My pulse changed.

Ronan frowned.

“How much?”

“Enough that Adrian may lose the company before the board realizes there is a takeover.”

The threat landed differently from everything else.

Cradle had attacked my body.

My family.

My history.

Now someone was attacking the one thing I had spent my entire life preparing to control.

Vale Dominion.

I looked at Cassian.

“Who?”

“I can give you three shell companies immediately.”

“Names.”

“After the favor.”

Ronan laughed without humor.

“There it is.”

Cassian ignored him.

“I do not need confidential contracts. I need the current beneficial ownership list.”

“That list is restricted.”

“Yes.”

“Even board members do not receive the full version.”

“Yes.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“So you are asking me to commit a governance violation.”

“I am asking you to decide whether you would rather break a rule or lose your company.”

Ronan stepped closer.

“Why should we believe there is a takeover?”

Cassian reached inside his suit jacket.

Ronan’s gun came up.

Cassian stopped.

“Phone.”

“Slowly.”

He removed it.

A financial chart filled the screen.

Several transactions.

Different investment vehicles.

Different jurisdictions.

Different dates.

But the acquisition pattern was unmistakable.

Someone had been building positions quietly.

Marcus stepped closer.

He studied the numbers.

His face changed.

“Those percentages should have triggered internal review.”

Cassian nodded.

“They were deliberately kept beneath disclosure thresholds.”

Marcus scrolled.

“Individually.”

“Yes.”

“But combined—”

“Eleven point eight percent.”

My blood cooled.

That was not enough for control.

But it was enough to destabilize a closely divided board.

Especially if Victor joined them.

I looked at Cassian.

“Who owns the companies?”

“That is what I am trying to prove.”

“You said you had names.”

“Three corporate names. Not the ultimate owner.”

Ronan watched him carefully.

“Why do you care who controls Vale Dominion?”

Cassian’s expression changed.

“Because the same entities purchased Ashcroft shares eighteen months ago.”

Silence.

Ronan’s face went still.

“How much?”

“Nine percent.”

Ronan stepped toward him.

“You knew this and said nothing?”

“My father told me it was strategic accumulation.”

“And you believed him?”

“No.”

Cassian looked at me.

“That is why I started tracing them.”

My pulse slowed.

Vale.

Ashcroft.

Cradle.

Everything kept returning to the same families.

I asked, “What did you find?”

Cassian tapped the screen.

“One company received funds from a private biomedical trust.”

Lucian went rigid.

“What trust?”

Cassian looked at him.

“Cradle Foundation Holdings.”

The room became silent.

Ronan’s expression hardened.

“They are buying both companies.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Cassian looked directly at me.

“Because whoever controls the companies controls the heirs.”

My stomach turned.

Of course.

The businesses had never been separate from the bloodlines.

They were part of the same succession machine.

I crossed my arms.

“You want the registry so you can trace the remaining buyers.”

“Yes.”

“And if I give it to you?”

“I give you every file I have on Cradle financing, A-09, and the original Ashcroft participation agreement.”

Ronan stared at him.

“You have the agreement?”

Cassian nodded.

“Signed by our grandfather.”

Ronan’s face changed.

My heart began beating faster.

There it was.

The first real document that might prove who had started this.

I looked at Cassian.

“Send me one page.”

He smiled faintly.

“You negotiate exactly like Theodore.”

“Do not insult me.”

“That was not an insult.”

“Send one page.”

Cassian studied me for several seconds.

Then tapped his phone.

Mine vibrated.

A document appeared.

Old.

Scanned.

Stamped with the Ashcroft family seal.

The first paragraph was enough.

ASHCROFT LINEAGE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT

Below it:

PRIMARY PURPOSE: REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESSION THROUGH CONTROLLED ALPHA-OMEGA PAIRING.

My throat tightened.

Then I saw the signature.

Not Ronan’s father.

Not Cassian’s.

A name I had never seen before.

ELIAS ASHCROFT.

Ronan read over my shoulder.

His face lost color.

Cassian watched him.

“That is our grandfather.”

I looked at Ronan.

“You said he was dead.”

“He is.”

Cassian’s expression turned grim.

“No.”

Ronan slowly looked at him.

Cassian continued.

“Elias Ashcroft is very much alive.”

The room seemed to contract around us.

Then my phone vibrated again.

A second document arrived.

This one showed a recent financial authorization.

Dated two weeks ago.

Signed electronically.

ELIAS ASHCROFT.

Ronan stared at it.

Cassian lowered his voice.

“And Adrian, he is the one buying Vale Dominion.”

Before I could answer, Marcus’s phone rang.

He picked up.

Listened.

Then looked at me.

His face had gone pale.

“Sir.”

“What?”

“The Vale board just called an emergency vote.”

My pulse jumped.

“On what?”

Marcus swallowed.

“Removing you as successor.”