Night had already swallowed the skyline when Jackson Milton stepped into his mother’s private sitting room. Sarah Milton did not look up immediately. She was seated by the fireplace, a tablet in her hand, glasses low on her nose. Calm. Composed. Calculating. Jackson closed the door behind him. “We need to stop pretending, mother.” he said. That made her look up with furrowed brows. “Pretending about what?” “About Steven.” The name hung between them like smoke. Sarah removed her glasses slowly. “Lower your voice, someone might think you are plotting again.” “He humiliates us, Mother.” “He surpassed you,” she corrected softly. “That’s different, keep that in mind.” Jackson’s jaw tightened. “You call forcing the Miltons to beg him for liquidity during the board freeze ‘surpassing’?” Sarah’s eyes sharpened. “He saved us, didn't he?” “He made us kneel, that was uncalled for.” There was silence because even if Steven later helped them restore the Miltons power an

Harry Milton did not sleep that night. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, listening to the familiar rhythm of Sarah’s breathing beside him. Even in sleep, she was composed. Controlled. As though her mind never fully shut down. He turned slightly, studying her face. This woman, he thought, has survived every storm. But this storm... this one felt different, it was about Steven. The boy he once failed, the man he had finally found again. Harry closed his eyes. “I know you’re awake,” Sarah said quietly. He sighed, “You always do.” She turned toward him, propping herself on one elbow. “You’ve been restless for weeks.” “I’m fine.” “No, you’re conflicted.” He sat up slowly. “Sarah—” “He’s become too powerful,” she said, cutting him off. Harry flinched. “Don’t,” he warned. “Not tonight.” “You see it too,” she pressed. “The influence. The reach. The way people lower their voices when they say his name.” “He earned it.” “At what cost?” Harry swu

Steven did not react when Princewill finished speaking. He simply leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. “Say it again,” Steven said calmly. Princewill swallowed. “Fifteen percent of floating shares were acquired overnight.” “Overnight,” Steven repeated. “Yes.” “Legally?” “Yes.” “Traceable?” “No, we have no idea who it was that got it.” There was silence, deafening. Those words lingered in the air like smoke. Steven stood slowly and walked toward the window overlooking Manhattan. “Fifteen percent doesn’t happen quietly,” he said. “It was fragmented,” Princewill replied. “Hundreds of micro-acquisitions routed through layered holding structures.” Steven nodded once. “Clean enough?” “Extremely.” “And you’re certain it isn’t us?” Princewill hesitated. “I double-checked treasury operations.” “And?” “It wasn’t internal.” Steven’s jaw tightened. Somewhere, someone had just knocked on the door of his empire very softly, deliberately and

Morning came rather too quickly. The Kahuna Empire boardroom was filled with tension. Executives whispered, investors checked their phones. Princewill stood beside Steven near the window. “They’re here,” he said quietly. Steven didn’t move, the doors opened. Three men entered in dark suits. Behind them walked a tall figure with calm authority. Al-Hakimi’s representative. He approached the head of the table. “Good morning.” Steven turned slowly. The man smiled politely. “I believe introductions are unnecessary.” Steven took his seat. “Sit,” he said calmly. The man did. Steven’s voice carried across the room. “You now hold seventy percent of Kahuna Empire.” “Yes.” “And you intend to exercise that control.” “That is the purpose of majority ownership.” Steven nodded slowly. “Of course.” The representative leaned forward slightly. “Our client believes new leadership structures will stabilize the company.” Murmurs spread across the room.

Steven got to the miltons and acted as though everything was okay. But then what happened was exactly opposite of that. Sarah Milton stared at him, stunned by the cold certainty in his voice. “Jackson wasn't in the city,” Steven repeated slowly. “He was in Saudi Arabia with people who intend to bring me down doing God knows what. So don't tell me to reconcile.” Sarah folded her arms tightly across her chest. “You're accusing your own brother of betrayal based on suspicion,” she said quietly. “Do you even hear yourself?” Steven gave a short, humorless laugh. “Suspicion?” he scoffed. “Mother, I built Kahuna Empire from nothing while Jackson sat comfortably under the Milton Group umbrella. The moment he got removed from the board, suddenly he's networking with foreign investors who just happen to be trying to undercut my shipping contracts.” Sarah’s expression hardened. “Jackson was removed because of internal politics,” she said. “You know that.” “Exactly,” Steven sn