Lucian had left a bomb behind him.

The reporters had come to ask whether Julian would become CEO.

Instead, they had discovered that the woman the Whitmores claimed to have found wasn’t me.

And that my famously devoted husband knew it.

The questions came fast.

“Why hide the truth, Mr. Whitmore?”

“Who is the woman they found?”

“Did you let people believe Stella was permanently incapacitated so you could remove her and take over?”

“You benefit more than anyone from her disappearance. Are you involved?”

Their instincts were sharp.

Julian’s face turned an ugly color.

“Of course not. I understand you’re concerned about my wife. I’ll arrange a time to answer your questions. Right now, I have a shareholders’ meeting. Excuse me.”

He turned and entered the building.

Security formed a human barrier at the doors.

“What about the crate?” Gavin hurried after him.

Two men had carried it inside.

“Take it to the rear entrance yourself. Someone will collect it.”

Julian was already dialing.

The call connected as he stepped into the elevator.

In the mirrored walls, the gentle man from the cameras had disappeared. His face was dark.

“Come to the rear entrance. Take Voss away.” He lowered his voice. “Lucian found him.”

The elevator was otherwise empty and silent.

I heard the reply clearly.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Whitmore. Voss won’t talk. Lucian won’t trace anything back to you.”

A man.

Low and hoarse, his voice sounded as though fire had damaged it.

I recognized it.

After Lucian found my ring and confronted Julian by the river, Julian had driven away and called a man from a public phone.

He had asked whether my body had been disposed of properly.

The man had told him not to worry.

I had assumed he was Slade, the man who dismembered me and took my bones.

But Slade’s voice was different.

And now Slade was dead.

Who was this man?

I desperately wanted to follow him, but I had no way to reach him.

For now, I had to stay with Julian.

The elevator reached the shareholders’ meeting on the twenty-ninth floor.

Julian composed himself, walked in with a smile, and nodded to the shareholders before taking the first seat to the chairman’s left.

I reached toward the nameplate in front of him.

CEO.

I had exhausted myself earning that title.

He had taken it so easily.

“Since Stella disappeared, our share price has fallen and we’ve lost several major projects.”

The speaker was Rupert Whitmore, Julian’s uncle and one of the group’s largest shareholders.

“I’m not impressed with your performance as acting CEO.”

The Whitmores had run the company for a century.

Richard was the eldest of three brothers. They had fought bitterly over the company and leadership of the family.

After the youngest died in an accident, Richard became chairman. Rupert reluctantly settled for being the second-largest shareholder.

He had resented it ever since.

When I was alive, I had usually tolerated him for the sake of his position in the family, as long as he didn’t go too far or hurt Julian.

Now I hoped he would make Julian’s life as difficult as possible.

“Uncle Rupert, those were Stella’s projects,” Julian replied calmly. “I failed to clean up after her. As her husband, I should have done better.”

He shifted blame so smoothly I wondered whether he practiced in secret.

“And the multibillion-dollar government development? That one’s yours, isn’t it?” Rupert sneered. “There’s a massive funding gap. We can’t even start. We’ve already sunk hundreds of millions into it, and the government representatives are coming tomorrow to terminate the agreement.”

Julian checked the account on his phone.

The Swiss transfer had reached the country. In twelve hours, the money would enter the project account.

His confidence returned.

“I’ve solved it. Eight point four billion dollars will arrive by tomorrow at the latest. This partnership will be a tremendous success.”

Richard seized the opportunity.

“Once it succeeds, it won’t merely double this year’s returns. It will strengthen our government partnerships for years. Julian, you’ve done the company an enormous service.”

Everyone around that table knew how to read the room.

The chairman was backing his heir.

Someone immediately followed his lead.

“If he gets the project moving, keeping him as acting CEO would be an insult to his abilities. Why not make the appointment permanent on the day it restarts?”

“Exactly. Stella certainly had ability, but her reputation was terrible. So aggressive. A complete shrew. She even staged that kidnapping for attention. It damaged the company’s image.”

Someone else added, “Good breeding matters. You can’t expect much from an orphanage.”

I had heard variations of those insults since the day I joined the company.

They no longer hurt.

They were almost funny.

This aggressive, ill-bred orphan had protected their company from Lucian and doubled their fortunes.

They had grown fat on my work.

Richard looked at his son with undisguised pride.

Afterward, he called him into his office.

“You’re certain Mr. L’s investment will arrive tomorrow? The government team will be here. Whether we renew the project or lose it depends on that money.”

“Absolutely, Dad. It’s already been transferred out of Switzerland. It’ll be in the account by morning at the latest.”

He showed Richard the live transaction status.

Richard finally relaxed.

“That’s my son.”

He crossed to the shrine in the corner, lit three incense sticks, and raised them to his forehead before bowing to the god of wealth.

Most businessmen believed in something of that sort.

One exception came to mind.

Lucian Blackwood.

He feared neither gods nor consequences.

Julian waited beside Richard, then took his own incense sticks.

Before he could light them, Richard spoke.

“The woman they found isn’t Stella.”

A statement, not a question.

He hadn’t visited the hospital once, but he was still head of the family. He had his sources.

Julian’s expression didn’t change.

“Hayes is still searching. I’ve also sent everyone I can to look for—”

“I don’t think you need to look anymore.”