Chapter 7 - ASHES OF THE EMPIRE
The DNA results arrived on Tuesday morning via an encrypted message from Marcus. Probability of Paternity: 99.99%.
Nathaniel sat on the edge of the motel bed, looking at Wren and Briar, who were watching cartoons and eating cereal out of paper cups. They were his blood. His and Elise's. A piece of the woman he loved had survived the fire, crawling out of the ashes to find him.
He made three phone calls. The first was to his lead corporate attorney, instructing him to draft an immediate freeze on all assets under the Cole conglomerate umbrella. The second was to the FBI director, a man whose political campaign Nathaniel had single-handedly funded. He forwarded Vera's recorded testimony and a mountain of financial documents proving Vivian had been embezzling company funds to pay off her private hitmen.
The third call was to Vivian’s private secretary.
"Tell my mother I will be at the emergency board meeting this afternoon," Nathaniel said, his voice completely devoid of emotion. "Tell her I am ready to surrender my shares."
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He dressed in his sharpest Tom Ford suit. He looked at his reflection. He wasn't the broken widower anymore. He was the apex predator returning to his territory. He kissed the girls on their foreheads, leaving them heavily guarded by Marcus's expanded team.
"I'll be back, little birds," he whispered. "Daddy has to go take out the trash."
