"Bring them in," Eleanor snarled, standing up, trying to project her usual intimidating dominance. "I will show these hedge-fund vultures what happens when you try to extort a Van Der Bilt."
The heavy double oak doors of the boardroom swung open.
Two men in custom Italian suits stepped into the room, flanking the doorway. But they weren't lawyers. They were Marcus Thorne and two senior security operatives from Vanguard Global Logistics. They stood aside, creating a pathway.
Then, Jack Vance walked into the room.
He wasn't wearing his leather jacket today. He wore a bespoke, charcoal-gray Tom Ford suit that accented his intimidating, broad-shouldered frame. His tie was dark silk, his posture was radiating absolute, unquestionable authority, and in his left hand, he carried a small, custom-made glass display case.
Inside the case, resting on a bed of black velvet, was Lily’s hand-painted, broken clay heart, carefully glued back together with a visible, thick line of gold resin—the Japanese art of kintsugi, making the broken pieces stronger and more beautiful than before.
Vanessa gasped, standing up so fast her chair knocked backward into the wall. "Jack...?"
Eleanor froze, her eyes darting between Jack’s expensive suit, the elite security personnel, and the leather-bound takeover documents Marcus was spreading across the table. Her brain, conditioned by decades of prejudice, short-circuited trying to process the visual contradiction.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Eleanor demanded, though her voice lacked its usual steel, cracking with a sudden, creeping dread. "Why is this garage mechanic in my boardroom? Security! Remove him immediately!"