Elena walked in and Mark was already standing in the middle of the room waiting.
"Five billion dollars."
He said it like a man who had been holding it since before sunrise.
"Three projects already allocated. Contractors on standby. Teams hired. Timelines promised. Without that contract nothing moves. And if nothing moves we start defaulting on commitments made to partners who trusted this company's word. Meridian is one of the most connected firms on the west coast. Those doors don't come back." He paused. "That is what was on your desk. Not just money. The next chapter of this company. And it is gone."
Elena said nothing.
She had woken up that morning in a stranger's room. Come straight here from there. And now this.
Clara looked up from the armchair.
"Meridian has already contacted our legal team about the submission deadline. If we cannot produce those documents in time we don't just lose the deal." A pause. "We lose the relationship. Permanently."
Harlan stood up from the window.
"I have been sitting here listening to everyone talk around the real issue." He looked directly at Elena. "You lost five billion dollars. The single biggest deal this company has ever been positioned to close. In your first two weeks." A short humorless laugh. "And I am not even surprised. Grandpa gave my rightful place to you and you gladly took it. I said nothing. But now look. Even Grandpa is lying down that hall right now because his body could not handle what this week has done to this family." He turned to William. "Now tell me what that says about the decision that was made."
Nobody answered.
William looked at Harlan. The weight of something old and complicated moved through his face. Then he looked at his daughter standing across the room. Then he looked away from both of them.
"Sit down Harlan," he said quietly.
"I should sit down right." Harlan said it quietly. Almost to himself. "I am going to sit down and watch how you all deal with this situation." He turned and walked back to his spot by the window. His jaw was tight. His eyes moved briefly toward the hallway where his grandfather was lying. Then he folded his arms and said nothing.
Then Margaret appeared in the doorway.
Every person in the room went still.
She looked at Elena.
"Do you know what that man in that room gave to build what this family has." Her voice was low and shaking. "The years. The sacrifices. One handshake at a time." She paused. "And you could not keep one document safe for one morning."
"Ma —" William started.
She raised one hand. He closed his mouth.
"I want her to answer me," she said. "Not you. Her."
Every eye turned to Elena.
She took a breath. She opened her mouth.
Her phone buzzed.
Grace.
She stepped slightly to the side and answered. Her voice low.
"Grace."
"Ma." Grace's voice was tight. "The access log. Security footage. Everything. I went through all of it." A brief pause. "Nothing. Whoever took that document left no trace at all."
"Okay," she said slowly.
"There is something else," Grace said. "There is a young man at Carter Group right now. He came with men and gifts. He is asking to see you. Says his name is Ryan Cole. He is from the Meridian family. He says he has come to propose for your hand in marriage."
Elena froze.
The room behind her was waiting.
Margaret's eyes were still on her.
But something had shifted in Elena. A man from the Meridian family. On this day of all days. With men and gifts. Coming to propose marriage.
She didn't know what it was yet, but she wasn't ready for marriage. Not now. Not with him. Why would he come to propose when there was nothing between them?
She opened her mouth to respond to Grace.
The housekeeper burst through the door.
"Ma'am." Breathing fast. Eyes wide. "Grandpa. He is awake but he won't stop coughing. Several minutes now and it won't stop."
Elena's phone was already going into her pocket.
"Hello ma. Hello ma." Grace's voice came through faintly. No answer. Already buried inside her pocket.
She was already moving.
Ryan Cole could wait. Carter Group could wait. Everything could wait. What mattered most was her grandpa.
They moved down the hallway together fast.
William pushed the bedroom door open first.
Robert was sitting up in bed. The coughing wouldn't let him lie back down. Deep. Continuous. Each wave shook his whole thin frame. His hands gripped the bedsheet on both sides. His face was red. His eyes were open and frightened.
Then the blood came.
Not a lot. But enough.
William reached him first. One hand on his father's back immediately. "Dad. I'm here. Try to breathe slowly."
Mark came around to the other side. Grabbed the extra pillow and positioned it behind Robert's back quickly.
Elena came to the foot of the bed. The space around him was already full. She stood there and watched her grandfather's body shake with each cough. This was the man who had chosen her. And she could not even reach him.
Clara came in behind them and stood beside Elena. Her hand pressed over her mouth. Her eyes filling.
Harlan came through the door and stopped just inside it.
He saw the blood on the sheet.
For a moment everything left his face. The anger. All of it. Just a young man looking at his grandfather's blood on white linen.
Then his eyes moved to Elena at the foot of the bed. His jaw tightened. He stood there and said nothing.
Margaret arrived. She went straight to her husband's side. Took his face in both her small hands.
"Robert." Low and steady. "I'm right here. Look at me."
His eyes found hers. The coughing didn't stop. But he stopped fighting it alone.
William was already on the phone. "Dr. Reeves. Yes. Now. Please come now."
Veronica appeared at the doorway. Nobody had seen her since. She had just arrived. She stood there with her hands clasped in front of her. Eyes moving quietly around the room. Her expression was the expression of a worried family member and she wore it well.
Harlan's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He looked at the screen.
Drake.
He slipped out quietly. Nobody noticed. Every eye was on Robert.
He stepped into the hallway and answered.
"Young Master Drake." His voice dropped immediately.
"What's the situation." Drake's voice was calm. Focused.
"The old man collapsed. He is coughing blood. The whole family is here. Elena just arrived. They are all on her. Nobody knows where she was last night."
A brief silence.
"You said he collapsed."
"Yes."
"And he is coughing blood."
"Exactly Young Master Drake."
A pause.
"Hope nobody saw you when you put those substances in his meal last night."
Harlan glanced toward the bedroom door. Then back. His voice barely above a whisper.
"No eyes saw. There is nothing to worry about Young Master. Your plan is working perfectly just as you wrote it."
"I'm coming," Drake said.
The line went dead.
Harlan stood in the hallway for a moment. Then a slow smile settled on his face. He turned to walk back.
"Big brother!" a familiar voice called from behind. At first, he jumped in fear. He turned, breathing hard. It was Sophia, his sister.
"Good afternoon, big brother."
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"I came to check on Grandpa. Mom told me he isn't well."
"And so what?" he snapped, shaking his finger at her. "Don't provoke me here. Mind your business in that room, or I'll disfigure your face in front of everyone. If you dare take Elena's side, make sure it's not in that room." He grabbed her ear and pulled her closer. "Ush—" she let out a sharp, painful noise. "Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she stammered.
Then he left her, turned and walk away.
Sophia rubbed her ear, eyes fixed on him, wondering what her brother and her mother were plotting this time.
Harlan walked back into the room his eyes searching for Elena.
She was on the floor at the foot of her grandfather's bed. Her back against the bed frame. Her eyes red. She loved this man more than she could say. And now he was lying in that bed barely breathing.
If anything happened to him it would be on her head.