The summons came before sunrise.
Lucien was already awake when the encrypted message appeared on his phone—short, formal, and unmistakably hostile.
Emergency Board Session. 9:00 a.m. Mandatory Attendance.
He stared at the screen for a long moment, jaw tightening. They were done pretending this was about market confidence or public optics.
This was an ultimatum.
Seraphina sensed it the moment he moved beside her in the quiet bedroom. The air shifted—tight, deliberate, heavy with consequence.
“It’s today,” she said softly.
Lucien didn’t deny it. “They’re forcing the confrontation.”
She sat up, pulling the sheet around her shoulders. “About stepping down?”
“About control,” he replied. “They’ll dress it up as concern, but they want leverage.”
“And I’m still that leverage,” she said.
