So I smiled.
Waited until Daniel left.
Then poured the tea into the bathroom sink.
I climbed into bed and pretended to sleep.
About forty minutes later, I heard his footsteps.
I kept my breathing slow and even.
Daniel stood beside the bed for several seconds.
Then he walked into our closet.
A quiet electronic beep followed.
The safe.
Through barely opened eyes, I watched him remove two passports, stacks of cash, several velvet jewelry boxes, and a blue folder stamped with the Sterling Global logo.
My company.
More accurately, the company my mother had spent thirty-one years building before leaving me controlling ownership.
Daniel packed everything into a leather duffel bag with disturbing calm.
He wasn’t improvising.
This had been planned.
Then he picked up one final velvet case.
My stomach tightened.
Inside was what he believed to be my mother’s diamond bracelet.
She had worn it on the day she formally transferred sixty-eight percent of Sterling Global’s voting shares to me.
