Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Fallout

Henry Ashford released his statement at noon.

Felix brought it to me on his tablet. He didn't say anything. He just set it on my desk and stepped back.

I read it twice. Then I read it again.

The allegations against me and my family are baseless and defamatory. I have spent my entire career building a legacy of integrity and service. I will not allow anonymous sources and disgruntled individuals to destroy what I have built. My legal team is exploring all options, including defamation claims against those who have spread these lies.

I set the tablet down.

"He's scared," I said.

Felix frowned. "He sounds angry."

"Angry is scared. When Henry Ashford is confident, he doesn't release statements. He ignores accusations until they go away."

"And now?"

"Now he's fighting. That means we're hurting him."

Felix nodded. He didn't look convinced. But he didn't argue.

I stood. I walked to the window.

"Get me everything on his legal team," I said. "Every lawyer. Every firm. Every connection. I want to know who's advising him."

"On it."

He left. I stayed at the window.

Henry was scared. That was good. But scared men did desperate things. And desperate men were dangerous.

---

By three, the stock had dropped another fifteen percent. By five, three major investors had publicly withdrawn their support. By seven, the board had called an emergency meeting.

I watched it happen from my office. Felix sent updates every hour. I read each one. I didn't respond.

At eight, Adrian appeared in my doorway.

"You should eat," he said.

"I'm not hungry."

"You're never hungry."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"Fine," I said.

We walked to the kitchen. He made something simple. Eggs. Toast. Coffee. We ate in silence.

After a while, he said, "Henry is going to retaliate."

"I know."

"He's going to come after you. Not just with lawyers. He's going to try to destroy you."

"I know."

Adrian set down his fork. He looked at me.

"You're not afraid."

"No."

"Why not?"

I considered the question. I thought about my previous life. My death. My rebirth.

"Because I've already lost everything," I said. "He can't take anything from me that I haven't already lost."

Adrian was quiet. Then he said, "He can take me."

I looked at him. He looked at me.

"He can try," I said.

"He will try."

"Then we'll stop him."

He didn't respond. He just looked at me. Neither of us spoke.

I picked up my fork. I finished my eggs. He watched me.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?"

"For the food. For the honesty. For not telling me I'm wrong."

He didn't smile. But he nodded.

---

Julian called at eleven that night.

I was in my office. I was reviewing the latest financial reports. My phone buzzed. I saw his name. I answered.

"You did this."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The article. The statement. The investors. You did this."

"Prove it."

He was breathing hard. I could hear it through the phone.

"You're going to regret this," he said.

"I've heard that before."

"You think Kane can protect you? He can't. Not from me."

I didn't respond. I just waited.

"You're going to lose everything. Just like I did."

"No," I said. "I'm going to take everything. Just like you took everything from me."

I hung up. I set the phone on my desk. I didn't move.

Felix appeared in my doorway. "Everything okay?"

"Julian. He's panicking."

"Good."

"Yes. But panicking men do desperate things."

---

The package arrived the next morning.

Felix brought it to me. A small box. White paper. No return address. Security had scanned it. It was clean.

I opened it.

Inside was a photograph. My mother. Standing in a garden I didn't recognize. She was smiling. She looked happy.

On the back, in Julian's handwriting: You're not the only one who remembers.

I set the photograph down. My hands were steady.

"Where did this come from?" Felix asked.

"I don't know. But he's trying to scare me."

"Is it working?"

I looked at the photograph. My mother's face. Her smile. The life she never got to live.

"No," I said. "It's not."

---

That night, I found Adrian in his office.

He was on the phone. He hung up when he saw me.

"What happened?"

I handed him the photograph. He looked at it. He turned it over. He read the message.

"Julian," he said.

"Yes."

"He's trying to get inside your head."

"I know."

"Is it working?"

"No."

He set the photograph down. He looked at me.

"We need to move faster," he said.

"I know."

"We need to go public with everything. The evidence. The documents. The witnesses. Everything."

I considered this. "If we do that, Volkov will know. He'll disappear completely."

"He's already disappeared."

"Then we don't have anything to lose."

Adrian was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.

"Tomorrow," he said. "We go public tomorrow."

I didn't answer. I just looked at the photograph on his desk. My mother's face. Her smile.

Tomorrow.