جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 156

Lilith’s POV "I studied land law for two years," I admitted. "While I was away. It seemed useful to understand the legal structures that governed territorial claims." I picked up my fork. "It was not the most cheerful course of study but it was thorough."My father looked at me with the expression I had seen once before, when I was twelve and had beaten two of his senior bikers at chess. The expression of a man recalibrating an assessment upward.The conversation moved. The food was good. Dagger ate in the culture of someone who had learned to eat efficiently because meals were not guaranteed and she was not wasting a functional one. Reed talked exactly the right amount.At one point I looked down the table and caught Scarlett watching my father.She didn't do that conspicuously, just a brief sideways glance, which told me she felt nobody was studying her, a look that carried everything in it without intending to. I knew that look…I had watched my mother look at my father that way

Luca's POV I was speechless at some point and it was not because she was wrong. No! Because her position was completely right and so simply stated that it left no room for the kind of argument I had spent thirty years constructing, the kind that made things look more complicated than they were so I could avoid seeing their actual shape.She finished her tea.She stood and picked up both cups and took them to the counter by the door with the easy movement of someone performing a small task to let the larger thing they have just said breathe a little."Come back tomorrow," she said, not turning around. "We have years to get through. One dinner is not enough.""Lilith," I called.She turned."The exile," I said. "What I did..I need to say it properly.""You said it at the table," she cut in."I used your name like a placeholder," I said. "Like I needed to specify which Lilith I was addressing to make sure the apology got to the right person." I looked at her. "I am sorry…for what I did

Scarlett's POV"Elder Baas," Cain mentioned. "He has been in contact with Morrow's legal team for four months."The study went completely silent.Dominic looked at Cain with the expression he wore when information arrived that he had not prepared for and was determining its full weight before he responded to any part of it."Baas?” He asked…"Yes," Cain said. "I found the connection two hours ago. Communication records between Baas's personal account and an address belonging to one of Morrow's subsidiary companies. Monthly contact for sixteen weeks." He set a printed summary on the desk. "The authorization code used to file the fraudulent challenge was obtained through Baas. He gave it to a contact who passed it to Morrow's lawyers.""Why?" I asked."Because Baas owns a parcel of land adjacent to the eastern boundary," Cain said. "A small holding he has been sitting on for twelve years. Under Morrow's development plan, that parcel triples in value the moment the eastern territory chan