The final obstacle arrived in the form of a journalist — one of the region's most notorious business reporters, known for exposés that had ended careers and occasionally entire companies, requesting comment on "irregularities in Cole Industries' financial disclosures over the past three years."
Marcus, cornered at last by the debt he could no longer hide through marriages or contracts, called an emergency family meeting, his composure cracking for the first time Elena had ever witnessed. His hands, usually so steady on the head of the table, trembled slightly as he laid out the reporter's questions in front of them.
"If this story runs," Marcus said, "everything collapses. The company, the family name, everyone's contracts — including your father's, Elena, since your routes are still tie
