Chapter 68

As Michael fixed his gaze on Shelly, the room became suffocating. He had expected her to call everything a bluff, but she was dead serious.

Something haunting was in her eyes, something he had never seen before. Shelly was always a tough, no-nonsense girl who wasn't afraid to take chances. But she appeared defeated and afraid of something.

Everything was simply too much for him to take in at once.

"Listen to me, Michael," she said, "with your father in a mental institution, this leaves you in charge, and you can trade your freedom for the sinking company and, of course, the mansion."

"But… but…?"

"Listen to me! I am not asking you to throw in the towel; we can get Daniel later, but now all your father's crimes and debt will be ours without this deal," she went on to explain.

"No, no, no," Michael cried out.

His father's last visit had given him so much hope. He was very sure he had found a way to get them out of the ditch. He sounded so real, and there was no sign of a man who was lo