Vanessa’s POV “You sold it?!” I shouted into the phone, pacing the length of my suite like a caged animal. The glass in my hand trembled from the sheer rage pulsing through my veins. Mr. Jacobs’ voice came through hesitant and weak. “We didn’t have a choice, Vanessa. The board… there was too much heat. Lawsuits piling up. Press breathing down our necks. Every investor pulled out.” “Every investor?” I spat. “Even you?” A beat of silence. “Especially me.” I hung up before I could scream. My heart pounded in my chest like a ticking bomb. I poured another glass of wine, number three? Four? I’d lost count, and swallowed it in one gulp. The warmth did nothing to cool the fury simmering beneath my skin. Hale Pharmaceuticals. The once-glorified empire my father had spent decades building, now unraveling at the seams. It had started small with whispers of expired drugs in poor neighborhoods, overdoses conveniently swept under the rug. Then the whistleblower surfaced. A former lab tech w