“And if I don’t?”
Richard’s voice became colder.
“Then you can remain exactly where you are.”
“Where is that?”
“Outside this family.”
Sophia looked at the documents surrounding her.
“I’ll be there.”
She ended the call.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“You’re sure?”
“They want my signature.”
She closed the laptop.
“They can ask me for it in front of everyone.”
The Grand Meridian ballroom looked even more impressive the next night.
News cameras lined the back wall.
Investors stood near the stage.
Kingston Global banners appeared beside Bennett Industries displays.
Sophia entered wearing a simple black dress.
No diamonds.
No Bennett jewelry.
No family crest.
Just herself.
Ethan followed in the same battered coat.
People noticed.
Whispers moved faster than they did at the foundation gala.
Grant intercepted them near the entrance.
His expression was polished but strained.
“You actually came.”
“You invited me.”
“I invited you.”
Sophia glanced at Ethan.
“You did not specify that I had to arrive alone.”
Grant’s eyes moved over Ethan’s coat.
“Still committed to this performance?”
Ethan smiled faintly.
“Still processing transactions you don’t want audited?”
Grant’s face twitched.
Sophia saw it.
That was all she needed.
They entered the ballroom.
Marcus Kingston stood onstage beside Richard and Lucas.
Sophia had seen Marcus only in photographs.
Silver-haired.
Distinguished.
The public face of stability after Ethan disappeared.
He looked like exactly the kind of man people trusted because he had spent decades learning how trust should be dressed.
A long table sat on the stage.
Contracts.
Pens.
Champagne.
The acquisition agreement.
Richard saw Sophia and immediately motioned her forward.
The cameras turned.
Sophia climbed the stage.
Ethan remained near the front row.
Richard handed her a pen.
“Sign.”
Sophia examined the document.
Then stopped.
Her signature was already printed on an attached preliminary share-transfer form.
She looked at her father.
“You’ve already used my name.”
His face barely changed.
“It is an administrative draft.”
“No.”
She lifted the page.
“This is a forged authorization.”
Murmurs spread through the ballroom.
Lucas stepped toward her.
“Sophia.”
She looked at him.
“Did you do this?”
“Do not turn this into another scene.”
“Answer.”
Richard leaned closer.
“Sign the final document.”
Sophia put the pen down.
“No.”
Marcus Kingston’s smile disappeared.
Richard whispered, “You are making a mistake.”
Sophia looked toward Ethan.
He gave one small nod.
She opened her purse and removed a flash drive.
Lucas frowned.
“What is that?”
“The part of the audit you told me not to finish.”
Sophia inserted it into the presentation computer.
The screens behind the stage changed.
No dramatic headlines.
No accusations.
Just documents.
Ledgers.
Approval chains.
Vendor records.
Payment sequences.
Then a recorded statement appeared from Daniel Cross.