Elara sat alone in the boardroom after everyone left. The documents still lay on the table, untouched, like they were waiting for her to stop shaking.
Take over a billion-dollar company? She could barely afford a secondhand laptop.
She pressed her fingers against her temples. "What kind of game is this?"
Mr. Kingsley returned, his suit still perfect, expression unreadable. "You don't have to make a decision today, Miss Rivers. But I'd advise you not to wait too long. The board is already circling like vultures."
"Who's on the board?" she asked quietly.
"Executives your father trusted—at first. Most now answer to Caroline Thorne." He paused. "They don't want you there. If you walk in unprepared, they'll eat you alive."
Elara exhaled. "So I'm supposed to just smile and hope they don't kill me with contracts?"
Kingsley gave a tight smile. "Or you prepare. Learn fast. Hit first."
She stared at the folder again. Her father had left her a weapon. But it was paper. Full of chains, conditions, and clauses.
Then she stood. Slowly. "I want to see where he lived."
Kingsley blinked. "Excuse me?"
"His penthouse. His office. All of it. If I'm supposed to inherit his life, I want to see what kind of man he really was."
He studied her for a long second… then nodded.
"As you wish, Miss Rivers. But be careful."
"Why?"
He looked away. "Because not all ghosts are dead."
Elara is ready to walk into her father's world — but someone else doesn't want her to come out.