Chapter 3 - The Broken Legacy
The luxury SUV ride back to the Kincaid estate was dead silent, save for the rhythmic patter of rain against the glass. The boys had fallen asleep in the back, exhausted from their vigil.
Inside the grand study of the estate, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves, Miles poured two cups of hot chamomile tea. He set one down in front of Marina, who sat nervously on the leather sofa.
"Julian Vance," Miles began, sitting opposite her. "Your father, Richard Vance, died six months ago without leaving a public will. The Vance corporation was handed over entirely to your stepmother, Eleanor Vance, and her son, Julian. A month later, you disappeared from the social registers."
Marina stared into her tea, the steam veiling her pale face. "My father loved me, Mr. Kincaid. But when he fell ill, Eleanor restricted his visitors. By the time I forced my way into his room on his final night, he gave me a flash drive containing the true company ledgers and his real will. He left fifty-one percent of the voting shares to me."
"Because he knew Eleanor and Julian were pulling money out of the company," Miles inferred.
"It’s worse than that," Marina whispered, her voice quivering with anger. "They were cutting corners on clinical trials for an affordable pediatric asthma drug. People were getting sick, but Eleanor wanted maximum profit before pushing an IPO. When Julian found out I had the original documents, he stripped me of my access, froze my bank accounts, and had his men track me down. They wanted to frame me for corporate embezzlement or worse... put me away in a facility where my signature could be forged."
"So you ran," Miles said gently. "You changed your name, took a job as a live-in housekeeper, and lived in constant fear."
"I took the job because your house was the safest place I could think of," Marina admitted, looking up at him with raw honesty. "Your security systems are state-of-the-art, and you are the only businessman in this city with enough financial leverage to intimidate Eleanor Vance. I didn't mean to use your family, Mr. Kincaid. I just wanted to survive."
Miles stood up and walked over to the window, watching the rain hit the glass. "You didn't just survive here, Marina. You brought my sons back to life. For two years, this house was a mausoleum. You gave them a home again."
He turned back to face her, his eyes blazing with a dangerous resolve. "Tomorrow morning, my legal team will file a protective injunction. But more importantly, Kincaid Global will initiate an aggressive hostile takeover bid for Vance Pharmaceuticals."
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Marina gasped. "Miles, no! Eleanor is ruthless. She will dig up dirt, she will attack your reputation, she will go after your boys!"
Miles offered a cold, ruthless smile—the smile that had made his competitors tremble in boardrooms across the globe. "Let her try. She touches my family, she learns what happens when a lion is disturbed."
