CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 60: AMBITION, APATHY, AND ANGER

The Lancaster Estate — Private Conference Room.

Damian leaned forward, elbows on the glass table, fingers steepled under his chin.

"Do you all understand what we’re dealing with?" he said. "Because I’m not sure you do."

Eleanor Lancaster didn’t look up. She was checking her phone, her lips pursed in that familiar way that meant she was bored or annoyed—or both.

Raymond sat sideways in his chair, leg bouncing, the buttons on his shirt mismatched and his cufflink missing. Probably hungover. Again.

Eleanor spoke first. "We’ve filed the suit. Public opinion is neutral. Nothing’s changed."

Damian’s voice was tight. "Exactly. Nothing’s moving. And every damn day we wait, that money disappears further into the wind."

Eleanor finally looked up. "We’re not getting that money, Damian. You know it. Saito is three steps ahead. He filed every document. We can’t even prove they’re fake."

Raymond snorted. "They feel fake. That ’Aetherian Institute’? What the hell is that? Some made-up science cult? And the orphanage—where? In rural Asia? Africa? One photo on the website and no contact number. Come on."

Damian pointed at him. "Exactly. Paperwork can be faked. Shelters can be bought. People can be paid to sign what they don’t understand. This isn’t about what’s real. It’s about what we can expose."

Eleanor tilted her head. "So what? You want to accuse the country’s top lawyer of orchestrating billion-dollar fraud based on your feelings?"

"Don’t act like this is just paranoia," Damian snapped. "We got one percent, Eleanor. One. After everything. After building the company with him. After—"

Eleanor cut him off, ice-cold. "We didn’t build anything. He did. We stood in his shadow and took credit when it suited us."

Damian’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t deny it.

Raymond leaned back and laughed. "This is hilarious. He always said we were disappointments. Guess he wasn’t bluffing, huh?"

"No, Raymond," Eleanor said dryly, "he was just stating facts."

Raymond sat up, half-laughing. "Man, screw him. I was living just fine before this mess. He could’ve thrown me five percent and I’d have walked."

"He gave you one," Damian muttered. "And now you’re here whining with the rest of us."

They fell into silence for a moment. The weight of reality pressing down.

Eleanor broke it. "Saito’s reputation is untouchable. He’s not just clean—he is the law. Unless we find something illegal, there’s no court on Earth that’ll rule in our favor."

Damian stood, pacing. His voice was colder now. "Then we make something."

Eleanor’s brow arched. "You’re suggesting fraud to fight what you think is fraud?"

He looked at her sharply. "I’m suggesting we take back what’s ours. You think he built all this for strangers?"

"No," she said, standing too. "He left it to spite us. And now he’s laughing from the grave."

Damian stared at her for a moment. "He hated us."

"Yes," she said. "He did."

Raymond slumped forward. "So why the hell are we even fighting for this? Let the damn ghost have it."

Damian turned to him, furious. "You spent two million last year on a yacht you never used and three million on two divorces. You’re not walking away from anything. If we lose this case, we lose everything. That trust owns controlling shares in the company now. The board is already shifting. We’re about to get voted out."

Raymond blinked. "Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah," Damian said. "And once that happens, we’re not just out of the will—we’re out of the empire."

Eleanor stood slowly. Her voice was like a blade.

"He didn’t just disinherit us. He replaced us. With... ideals. He gave the legacy to strangers and left us to rot."

Damian sat slowly, jaw tight. "And I’ll burn that fiction to the ground before I let it steal what we bled for."

Eleanor gave him a long look. "So what are you really planning?"

He didn’t answer. Not directly.

"Everyone has a pressure point," he said. "Even Daniel Saito. Even that so-called ’Institute.’ If I can’t win in court, I’ll win outside of it."

Raymond snorted. "You’re going to blackmail the most respected lawyer in the country?"

Damian didn’t flinch. "If it gets me what’s mine? Yes."

Raymond scoffed. "You think you’re gonna outmaneuver Saito? He buried CEOs for breakfast."

"He’s not untouchable," Damian said. "Everyone has skeletons. Connections. Weak spots."

"You better be sure," Eleanor said flatly. "Because if you drag this too far and it backfires—we lose the case and any chance of keeping the board on our side."

Damian stood slowly. "Then we don’t let it backfire."

He looked at both of them, his voice steely.

"If either of you aren’t willing to do what it takes, then walk away now. But don’t stand in my way. I won’t hesitate to get my hands dirty. I’ve waited my whole life to lead this family—to shape its legacy with my own hands. No one’s going to take that from me. Not a dead father. Not his lapdog lawyer. And certainly not some... fake charity."

The heavy silence that followed was broken by the sound of the door clicking open.

Eric walked in, casual as ever, a sly grin playing on his lips. He had a file folder under his arm and mischief in his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

Damian looked up. "You’re late."

Eric smirked. "Found something interesting. Or someone."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Eric dropped the folder onto the table with a soft thud. "I found Kael."

Damian’s brow furrowed. "So what?"

Eric nodded, flipping the file open and sliding a printed bus receipt across the table. "Well. He bought a one-way ticket to some backwater dump called Blackwater Hollow."

Raymond stepped forward. "Blackwater?"

"Yeah. It’s a remote area. Far from here. Very few people live there. No major industries. No job prospects. No reason anyone would go there."

Eleanor frowned. "Then why did he?"

Eric smirked. "That’s what I wanted to know. I mean, come on—Kael got nothing from the will. He’s broke, no job, no future, and no inheritance. So what the hell’s he doing chasing shadows in the middle of nowhere?"

He leaned forward. "Unless... he got something we don’t know about."

"Kael had a private conversation with Daniel Saito that day. Just the two of them. Although I saw them talking that day, I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. However, after that, Kael disappears. He went to that town. And guess what? That town? It’s where Grandpa was born."

That landed like a thunderclap. The room stilled.

Raymond blinked. "What? Father never mentioned that place. Not once."

"Exactly," Eric said. "Even we never went there. So why would Kael?"

"So you think there’s something hidden there? Property? Cash? Some kind of vault?"

Eric gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I don’t know. But Kael’s not stupid. Desperate, sure—but not an idiot. If he went to a place even we didn’t know existed, there’s a reason. And whatever it is, Saito probably told him."

Damian leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed.

"Hire a private investigator. Discreet. I want eyes on that town. On Kael. I want to know what he finds."

"And if he finds something?"

Damian’s voice was cold.

"Then we take it. Whatever it is. Before he even understands what he has."