THE GLASS INHERITANCE

The air in the boardroom of Thorne Enterprises was cold as Elias Thorne liked it. He wanted it to be a temperature that made people uncomfortable. It kept them on their toes. Elias Thorne sat at the head of the black table wearing a nice suit that fit him perfectly. Across from him the CEO of a shipping company was sweating a lot. His fancy tie was probably really expensive. "The numbers are simple Julian " Elias Thorne said in a smooth voice. "You spent a lot of money. You used your grandfathers company like it was your bank and now you are out of money. I am not here to help you. I am here to buy part of your company." "This is not an offer Elias Thorne " Julian said, looking nervous. "You are only offering thirty cents for every dollar. We built this city." "I am the one who has to clean up the mess " Elias Thorne said, looking at his watch. "You have ninety seconds to decide. If I leave the government will take over your company by tomorrow morning. If I stay you can retire to a house in Italy with enough money to pretend you did not fail." The room was quiet except for the sound of the air conditioning. Elias Thorne did not blink. He was known as "The Vulture" because he knew when to take action to get what he wanted. Then his phone started vibrating on the table. A few people had his phone number and one of them was in the hospital. Elias Thorne ignored it. "You have sixty seconds left " he said. His phone kept buzzing. Julian picked up a pen. Started signing the papers. "I do not like Elias Thorne. You are a cold person." "I do not have time for feelings " Elias Thorne said calmly. As Julian finished signing the door to the room opened. Marcus, Elias Thornes head of security walked in. He looked serious which meant something was wrong. Elias Thorne stood up took the papers and gave them to an employee. "We are done here." He walked out of the room with Marcus behind him. "This had better be important, Marcus " Elias Thorne said. "I do not have time for anything." "It is about your father, sir " Marcus said quietly. "The hospital called. He passed away twenty minutes ago." Elias Thorne stopped walking. He thought he would feel sad or upset. He did not feel anything. "Cancel my dinner plans with the people from Japan " Elias Thorne said, getting into the elevator. ". Call my lawyers. I want to know what my fathers will say by tonight." "There is a problem sir " Marcus said as the elevator doors closed. Elias Thorne raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Did my father leave some debt or a secret girlfriend?" "Not a girlfriend sir " Marcus said, handing Elias Thorne a tablet. There was a picture of a woman on the screen. She was wearing a jacket and had curly hair. She was holding a bird and looked really strong. "Her name is Juno Mercer " Marcus said. "She lives in Scotland. According to the papers your father filed a month ago... She is your sister." Elias Thorne looked at the picture. The woman did not look like him or his family. She looked like she belonged in nature. "My father was a cold person " Elias Thorne said, looking at the picture. "So why did he leave half of his company to this woman who takes care of birds?" "The will says that if she does not join the company within a year everything will be taken away and given to charity " Marcus said. Elias Thorne felt angry for the first time, in a long time. His father had planned something to hurt him even after he died. He had one year to teach this woman how to run a big company or he would lose everything. "Get the plane ready " Elias Thorne said, walking out of the elevator. "We are going to Scotland.”