Jake watched the tension in his uncle’s jaw. The silence in the penthouse was getting heavy, and the view of the waterfall, usually soothing, now felt like it was just filling the space where a decision should be.

"Let’s get out of here, Uncle," Jake said, pushing himself up from the desk. "We can’t solve the future of the Rivers legacy on an empty stomach."

Darius checked his watch, then nodded slowly. "Perhaps you’re right. A bit of fresh air might do us both some good. There’s a quiet place not far from here where we can actually hear ourselves think."

Jake pulled out his phone and swiped to Elias’s contact. "Elias, start the R8 and pull it around. We’re heading out for lunch. My uncle is with me."

"Understood, sir. I’ll be at the entrance in two minutes," Elias’s voice was crisp and immediate.

They left the penthouse, the descent in the private elevator feeling longer than usual. Darius didn’t say anything, his eyes fixed forward as if the very air of the Zenith was a challenge to his traditional sensibilities. Jake followed, his mind already drifting to the logistics of the company structure he’d just drafted.

When the doors opened in the garage, the Audi R8 was already purring, its daytime running lights cutting through the dim underground light like predatory eyes.

"I’ll ride with you, Uncle," Jake said, gesturing toward Darius’s black Mercedes S-Class. "Elias, you follow us."

Elias nodded, his expression as disciplined as a soldier’s. "Understood, sir."

They drove to a small, secluded bistro tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, far from the bustling financial district. It was the kind of place where the tables were spaced far apart and the staff were trained to pretend they didn’t recognize faces from the evening news.

Darius led the way to a corner booth. He didn’t look at the menu when it was handed to him. "The sea bass," he told the waiter, "and a bottle of the sparkling water. Room temperature."

Jake ordered a simple steak, medium-rare. He watched his uncle across the table. Darius looked older in this light. The professional mask was still there, but it was thinner.

"You think I’m being stubborn," Darius said once the waiter disappeared. It wasn’t a question.

’Because you are,’ Jake thought, but he didn’t say it. Instead, he leaned back, resting his bruised hand on the white tablecloth. "I think you’re being loyal to a ghost, Uncle. The legacy doesn’t care who sits in the chair as long as the empire grows. If you put the wrong person there just because their last name is Rivers, you aren’t protecting the legacy. You’re burying it."

Darius picked up his glass, swirled the water, and took a slow sip. "My father, your grandfather, used to say that a company is like a child. You don’t hand your child to a stranger to raise just because you’re tired. You find a way to keep it in the family."

’Even if that family is Paul?’ Jake mused. He thought about his cousin Paul—reckless, entitled, and currently the reason the Meridian stock was in the gutter. He felt a flash of sympathy for Darius. It was a hard thing to admit that your own blood wasn’t up to the task.

"The world is different now," Jake said softly. "The predators out there don’t care about family trees. They only care about weaknesses."

The food arrived, and for a few minutes, the only sound was the clink of silverware. Jake found himself looking at the door every time it opened, his instincts still on high alert from the previous night. He kept his phone on the table, the screen facing up. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

---

A few miles away, the atmosphere was entirely different.

"I’m telling you, Carroll, if he actually gives me that portion, the first thing we’re doing is flying to Paris," Aliya laughed, shifting the Audi A4 into third gear as they pulled out of the mall parking lot.

Carroll, her new roommate, was surrounded by shopping bags in the passenger seat. She was grinning, holding up a pair of designer heels she’d been eyeing for weeks. "Paris? Girl, I’ll be happy if we just get through this semester without failing Econ. Your brother is a total shark for making that deal."

"Tell me about it," Aliya said, her eyes bright. She felt lighter than she had in days. The weight of the secret with Alex was still there, tucked away in a dark corner of her mind, but being out with Carroll made it feel manageable. "He knows I can’t turn down a challenge. It’s his way of making sure I don’t drop out and become a full-time socialite."

"As if you could ever be a socialite," Carroll teased, reaching over to adjust the radio. "You’re too much of a nerd. Admit it."

"Hey! I can be both," Aliya protested, laughing as she accelerated down a relatively empty stretch of the suburban road. "I’ll be the nerdiest socialite in the city. I’ll read research papers at the gala."

They were approaching a wide intersection. The light was green. Aliya tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the song on the radio, her mind already drifting to the dinner they were going to cook tonight.

’I should text Jake later,’ she thought. ’Actually tell him thanks for the motivation. Even if he is an annoying billionaire.’

She entered the intersection.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of silver. A heavy SUV was barreling toward them from the side street, not slowing down, not braking.

"Carroll!" Aliya screamed, her hands locking onto the wheel.

The impact was a deafening, metallic roar. The world turned upside down. The sound of glass shattering was like a thousand crystal bells breaking at once. Aliya felt a violent jolt, her head snapping to the side, and then everything was a blur of spinning asphalt and gray sky.

The Audi rolled twice, the screech of metal on pavement piercing the air, before coming to a rest on its roof.

Silence followed. It was a heavy, suffocating silence, broken only by the ticking of the cooling engine and the distant sound of a car alarm.

Aliya groaned, her vision swimming with dark spots. Her head felt like it was being crushed by a vice. She was hanging upside down, held in place by her seatbelt. The smell of gasoline and hot rubber was overwhelming.

"Carroll?" she whispered, her voice sounding far away. "Carroll, wake up."

She turned her head painfully. Carroll was slumped over, her hair covering her face. A thin trail of blood was trickling down from her temple. She wasn’t moving.

’Please be alive. Please, please be alive,’ Aliya thought, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She reached out with a trembling hand, touching Carroll’s arm. The skin was warm, and she felt a faint, shallow rise and fall of her chest.

Aliya let out a sob of relief. She tried to reach for the door handle, but her arm felt like lead. The driver’s side window was gone, just a jagged frame of safety glass.

Then, she heard it. The crunch of boots on glass.

Someone was walking toward the car. The footsteps were slow, deliberate.

"Help!" Aliya croaked, her voice failing her. "Is someone there? Please help us!"

The footsteps didn’t speed up. They stayed at that same, haunting pace.

"Please... call an ambulance!" she cried out again, her voice cracking with desperation. "My friend is unconscious! Help!"

She could only see the feet of the person as they stopped beside her window. Scuffed black boots. Dark trousers.

The person crouched down. Aliya squinted, trying to make out a face, but the shadows were too deep.

"You should worry about yourself, little girl," a voice said. It was crusty, like someone who hadn’t used their vocal cords in years. "I’m not here for your friend. I’m here for you."

Panic, cold and sharp, flooded Aliya’s system. This wasn’t an accident.

’Jake,’ she thought, her eyes wide with terror. ’Jake, please...’

---

Back at the bistro, Jake was just about to take a bite of his steak when his phone erupted. It wasn’t a standard ringtone; it was the high-priority alert he’d set for the tracking software he’d quietly installed on Aliya’s car.

He dropped his fork, the metal clattering loudly against the dish. His heart stopped as he looked at the screen.

CRASH DETECTED. IMPACT FORCE: SEVERE.

The phone began to ring. A private number.

Jake answered it immediately, his voice tight. "Speak."

He listened to the voice on the other end, his face draining of all color. His eyes fixed on a point across the room, but he wasn’t seeing the restaurant anymore. He was seeing the map on his screen, the little red dot that had stopped moving.

Jake bounced out of his seat, the chair screeching back and hitting the floor with a dull thud. "What?" he yelled, his voice echoing through the quiet restaurant. The few other patrons turned to stare, but he didn’t see them.

"Pin the location now!" Jake barked into the phone. He hung up, his hands shaking with a mix of rage and pure, unadulterated fear.

Darius was on his feet now, his face pale. "Jake? What happened? Is everything okay?"

Jake didn’t answer immediately. He grabbed his coat, his mind racing through a thousand scenarios, each darker than the last. He looked at his uncle, seeing the genuine concern in the older man’s eyes.

"I have to go," Jake said, his voice raw. He started toward the door, then stopped. He looked back at Darius. "You’re family. You can come too."

Darius froze. The invitation was an admission of disaster. "Jake... did something happen? To Ryan? To your mother?"

Jake looked him dead in the eye, the fire in his gaze enough to make the older man flinch.

"Aliya," Jake said.

One word. That was all it took. Darius didn’t ask another question. He simply grabbed his briefcase and followed his nephew into the afternoon sun, both of them running toward a storm they hadn’t seen coming.

---