Megan lifted her eyes toward William with a steadiness that surprised even herself, and in a voice that carried none of the hesitation she had walked into that office with, she said, “I trust you. I have decided that I have no reason not to, and I intend to hold on to that trust from this moment forward, because I feel, deep within me, that something far larger than either of us fully understands is unfolding behind the scenes, something that neither of us can afford to ignore or dismiss simply because it is uncomfortable to confront. I only wanted to be absolutely certain that both of us are standing on the same page, that neither of us is secretly working against the other while pretending to cooperate, and that we are truly willing to join forces, hand in hand, in order to uncover whatever hidden truth is lurking beneath everything that has happened so far.”William studied her for a long moment, as though weighing the sincerity behind her words, before finally responding with a ca

The moment Megan glanced at the screen and saw Kai’s name flashing across it, she already knew, before even sliding her thumb across the display, exactly who was calling and exactly what kind of conversation she was about to walk into. There was no surprise in it, no hesitation, only a quiet, resigned certainty that told her Kai had been waiting anxiously for her to reach out first, and when she hadn’t, his patience had finally run out.She answered the call.“I don’t really know why I’m calling,” Kai began, his voice thick with a concern that sounded almost rehearsed. “I’m just worried about you, Megan. Extremely worried. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, and I don’t want you to feel as though I’m trying to control your decisions, but that’s exactly why I called. I wanted to hear your voice, to know that you’re okay.”He paused briefly, as though gathering his thoughts, before continuing.“Have you submitted your resignation letter yet? Are you on your way home? Please talk

Megan responded quickly, wanting to dispel any notion that she was trying to construct some elaborate deception.“I’m not trying to fabricate anything,” she said firmly. “I’m not trying to make it seem as though you're lying to me or twisting the situation to fit some narrative of your own. That is not what this is about at all. What I am trying to do is uncover the truth, the complete and honest truth, with absolutely no gaps left unexplained. That is exactly why I’m telling you this, why I believe we need to dig deeper into this matter rather than settling for surface-level explanations. If I didn’t trust you, Kai, why would I even be having this conversation with you right now? Why would I bother explaining myself at all?”Yet even as those words left her mouth, a quiet, persistent unease continued to churn deep within her, a feeling she could no longer ignore no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise.Something was wrong.Something was terribly, unmistakably wrong

Deborah blinked, caught off guard by her daughter’s suggestion, her tear-streaked face shifting from grief into something closer to confusion.“Benjamin? Mr. Vincent?” she repeated slowly, studying her daughter’s expression as though trying to understand the reasoning behind such a suggestion. “Why on earth would we call either of them? What exactly is going through your mind right now? What do you think they can do for us in a situation like this?”Her daughter met her gaze steadily, her voice calm despite the desperation still lingering in the room.“Mr. Vincent is well connected, Mom,” she said. “Extremely well connected. And right now, we need to use whatever resources are available to us if we want any chance of pulling Jefferson and Dad out of this mess. You always taught me that you use what you have to get what you need. This is exactly that kind of situation.”Deborah’s expression hardened slightly at the mention of the plan forming in her daughter’s mind, and after a long, t

Deborah listened intently to her daughter’s words, and as the plan took shape in her mind, a slow, satisfied smile spread across her face, a mixture of pride and relief washing over her features.“You are truly my daughter,” she murmured, shaking her head slightly in disbelief at how sharply her daughter’s mind worked even under the crushing weight of everything they were facing. “You definitely inherited that from me.”“So tell me,” Deborah said eagerly, leaning forward slightly. “What exactly is your plan? What are you thinking?”Her daughter took a brief moment to gather her thoughts before speaking, her voice steady and calculated.“I want to blackmail Sebastian,” she said plainly. “That is going to be our way forward. Remember, his father sits as Chief Justice of the Federation. If we play this correctly, we can ensure that whatever judgment comes down regarding Father and Jefferson swings entirely in our favor.”She continued, her tone growing more strategic.“But here’s the thi