Chapter 1
After my daughter, Daphne Mercer, was born, I worried that she might not be able to hold on to the family business. So I chose four boys from an orphanage and took them in.
For more than a decade, I gave them money, opportunities, and the standing that came with being sons of the Mercer family.
Those four boys had once struggled to get enough to eat. I brought them all the way into Mercer Group's inner circle, until people were calling them the rising stars of the business world.
I thought that with four older brothers looking out for her, Daphne would never have to suffer at anyone's hands.
Then the hospital called with an emergency.
By the time I reached the ER, Daphne's head was covered in blood. It had taken 13 stitches to close the wound on her forehead.
The four sons I had raised were fussing over a girl with nothing more than a scraped elbow.
One gave her water. Another fetched her medication. A third called for a doctor, while the fourth stayed by her bed, soothing her fears.
Not one of them turned to look at Daphne.
That was when I learned that the girl was Phoebe Lane, their childhood friend from the orphanage.
Daphne had refused to give her a limited-edition handbag. For that, Adrian Calder, the eldest, had pushed my daughter down the stairs.
As soon as I walked in, Adrian said, "Mom, Daphne has a terrible temper. I taught her a lesson for you. Maybe now she'll remember how to behave."
Nolan Voss, the second eldest, joined in.
"It's just a cut on her forehead. A few stitches will fix it. Why make this ugly for everyone?"
I smiled when I heard them.
Apparently, putting on a suit and signing a few contracts had convinced them that the Mercer family belonged to them.
I had given them everything they lived on. If they used it to hurt my daughter, I would take every last thing back.
*****
Adrian stood between Daphne's bed and Phoebe, his voice full of reproach.
"Stay out of this. Daphne's spoiled rotten at home. Sooner or later, someone out in the real world has to teach her how to behave."
Nolan filled a cup with water and held it to Phoebe's lips.
"Drink slowly. It's hot."
Phoebe cradled the cup, tears clinging to her lashes.
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't worn this dress, Daphne wouldn't have gotten angry."
She glanced at the coffee stain on her skirt and hunched her shoulders.
"She's the Mercer heiress. I'm nobody. I don't mind putting up with a little unfairness."
Tristan Rourke slammed his hand on the bedside table, making a cup wobble.
"Phoebe, why are you afraid of her? We're right here. Nobody's going to pin this on you."
Wesley Beck, who had been leaning against the wall, looked toward Daphne's bed.
"Daphne, get up. You ruined Phoebe's dress. How much longer are you planning to lie there?"
Daphne had just been given an anesthetic. Her face was deathly pale.
She gripped the blanket. Blood had already seeped through the gauze around her forehead.
"I didn't ruin her dress. She was holding the coffee, and she walked into me."
Adrian's face darkened as he took two steps toward the bed.
"Since when did you start lying? Phoebe never even had a decent dress growing up. You think she'd ruin her own clothes to pull something like that?"
He looked down at Daphne, assuming the authority of an older brother scolding his sister.
"When we left the orphanage, we couldn't take her with us. All four of us promised to make up for everything she's suffered over the years. You're our sister. Is it really so hard to be kind to her?"
He reached for Daphne's blanket, ready to pull it off.
"Get up and apologize."
I picked up the cup beside the bed and threw the entire contents in his face.
Adrian squeezed his eyes shut, his wet hair plastered to his forehead.
For a few seconds, the room fell silent.
I stepped in front of my daughter's bed and faced the four men I knew so well.
"What gives you the right to discipline my daughter? Back at the orphanage, you used to fight each other bloody over half a bread roll. I brought you into my home. I hired tutors, sent you to school, and put company projects in your hands. I raised you to protect Daphne. Who gave you the nerve to use our family's money to help an outsider bully her?"
Adrian wiped the water off his face without a trace of shame.
"Mom, there has to be a limit to how much you indulge her. She behaves like this because she's had everything since the day she was born! We're just helping you keep her in line. Besides, I run six of the group's key projects. The board judges me on results. Fire me over this, and the other shareholders won't stand for it."
Nolan set down his cup and moved to Adrian's side.
"The four of us built that core team. If we walk, at least 20 people from R&D walk with us."
Tristan stood protectively in front of Phoebe and made his threat more directly.
"The international healthcare project signing is coming up. Unless Daphne apologizes today, we're not showing up."
Wesley pulled up a financing proposal on his phone and turned the screen toward me.
"The valuation for the next funding round depends on our team's backing. Is defending Daphne's pride worth losing that investment?"
Each of them thought he had something to hold over me. They were certain I would have to give in.
Phoebe tugged at Adrian's sleeve and began to sob right on cue.
"Adrian, don't fight with her over me. I'll leave. I won't bother any of you again."
She turned to go, but moved so slowly that she stopped before anyone even had time to stop her.
Adrian took her hand and pulled her into his arms.
"You're not going anywhere. As long as the four of us are here, nobody has the right to throw you out."
I looked at them.
Every face held the same certainty. They were too important for me to turn against them.
Their threats might have worked on someone else.
They wouldn't work on me.
If I had been willing to hand them control of Mercer Group so early, did they really think I had nothing left up my sleeve?
"Since Mercer Group supposedly can't function without you, let's find out who needs whom."
I took out my phone and called Howard Price.
"Effective immediately, Adrian Calder, Nolan Voss, Tristan Rourke, and Wesley Beck are suspended pending investigation. Revoke their building access, freeze their accounts, and take back every Mercer family vehicle in their possession."
When I had finished, I looked at Adrian.
"Take your childhood sweetheart and get out. Don't ever set foot in our home again."
