Orion's POV
I didn't move.
"As for the money..." Damien swirled the wine in his glass. "It was hers. Every dollar."
I stared at him.
"She's held a significant stake in my company from the beginning. What she donated tonight is only a fraction of the returns she's entitled to."
His gaze stayed on mine.
"It wasn't a loan. It wasn't a gesture. It was her money."
"Elara doesn't own a stake in Fountain of Life," I said. "You founded that company with a geneticist known as E. I know its history."
Damien looked at me.
Something changed in his expression.
It was the look of a man who had just realized the truth was much further from my assumptions than he'd expected.
He studied me for another moment, seeming to reconsider what he'd been about to say.
Then he pressed his lips together a
