I turned to face the Dowager, noticing how carefully she was studying me, as if trying to figure out what I would do next.
“Would you like to return to the company?” she asked calmly.
Mattew let out a slow breath and slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Is that what you want?” he asked back.
The Dowager did not answer immediately. She simply looked at him for a long moment, her eyes sharp and thoughtful, like she was weighing something deeper than just the question she had asked.
But Mattew already knew where he stood.
“I’m not interested in the company anymore,” he said firmly. “Vinie should take it. He’s part of this family, and he deserves the position. Let him handle it the way it’s meant to be handled.”
A subtle change passed through the Dowager’s expression, something unreadab
