Mara POV
I find Lucien in the locked room again in the evening.
He's sitting on the floor surrounded by paintings, still in his suit, tie discarded beside him. He doesn't look up when I enter.
"Did the board meeting go that well?" I settle onto the floor across from him, careful not to touch the canvases between us.
"Gregory's cousin is making a play for control." His voice is tired. "Claiming I'm not fit to run the company because my marriage is a sham and I've violated the inheritance terms."
My stomach drops. "Do they have proof?"
"Not yet. But they're looking." He finally meets my eyes. "We might need to be more convincing."
"More convincing than staged bedrooms?"
"Apparently."
We sit in silence. The room feels different at night—shadows turning the paintings into something ha
