Ryan's POV
The drive back to the main house felt heavier than Ryan could remember in years. He hadn’t wanted to come. Every instinct in him screamed against it, but when Jonathan Ashbrook summoned his children, there was no ignoring the call. The old man had built an empire on dominance, and even now, in his sixties, he carried the authority of a general who had never lost a battle.
Ryan’s hands clenched the wheel tighter as he turned into the long driveway lined with oak trees. The mansion loomed ahead like a fortress, its stone walls glimmering beneath the late afternoon sun. It was home, but it had never been warm. Every brick felt like it had been laid with expectation and consequence.
And today, it was worse.
The accusations still gnawed at him. He had barely slept the night befor
