The room goes silent.
Not the ordinary kind of silence.
The kind that presses against your lungs until breathing feels like effort.
Margaret Lui document lies on the table between us. A single sheet of paper. But it suddenly feels heavier than the entire building.
Every board member is staring at it. No one moves.
Adrian is the first to speak.
“Read it,” he says quietly.
Margaret nods once. Her fingers slide the document forward so everyone can see.
My eyes drop to the name printed in black ink.
And for a moment—my brain refuses to process it.
Because the name doesn’t belong to Marcus.
It doesn’t belong to my father.
It belongs to someone who has been in this room the entire time.
Daniel Hargrove.
A ripple of shock spreads across the table.
Daniel doesn’t react immediately.
