The grandfather clock in the grand hall chimed midnight, echoing through the cavernous foyer of the Mercer estate.

"I knew Arthur was paranoid, but I didn't think you’d be foolish enough to come here yourself," Marcus Vance said, stepping into the office and shutting the heavy door behind him.

In Hannah's ear, Julian heard Vance's voice and gasped. "Hannah! Get out of there!"

"Don't move," Vance warned, his gun trained on her heart. "Take off the earpiece and throw it on the floor."

Hannah slowly reached up, took out the tiny earpiece, and dropped it onto the carpet. Vance stepped forward and crushed it beneath his leather shoe.

"Five years ago, you were smart," Vance said, his eyes cold and calculating. "You took the deal. You vanished. You could have lived a quiet, simple life raising your kid. Why did you have to come back?"

"Because you stole my life!" Hannah said, holding her ground despite the terror screaming through her veins. "You forged that audio recording! You threatened my dying mother! You made me believe Ethan abandoned me!"

Vance gave a cruel, brief chuckle. "It was business, kid. Arthur Sterling paid me half a million dollars to make sure Ethan Mercer stayed single and focused until the corporate restructuring was complete. Old man Mercer was easy to manipulate—he was so terrified of his son failing that he believed everything we told him."

Behind Vance, on the wall, the safe lock chimed softly: SUCCESS. The digital lock disengaged, clicking open.

Vance glanced at the open safe, then back at Hannah. "Looks like your little gadget worked. Too bad you won't live to use what’s inside."

Meanwhile, in the Mercer boardroom, Ethan’s phone buzzed on the table. It was a automated alert from Julian’s system indicating the earpiece signal had been lost.

Ethan’s heart stopped. He stood up abruptly, pulling his chair back with a harsh scrape against the floor.

"Ethan? What is the meaning of this interruption?" one of the senior board members asked.

Ethan ignored the board member, pointing directly at Arthur Sterling. "Where is Marcus Vance right now, Arthur?"

Arthur’s expression didn't change, but his fingers twitched against his pen. "I have no idea where my head of security is. Probably managing the security perimeter around this very building."

"You’re lying," Ethan said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, connecting it to the boardroom’s massive multimedia display wall.

"What are you doing?" Victoria demanded, standing up. "Father, make him stop this nonsense!"

"Five minutes ago, my legal team initiated an emergency federal injunction against Sterling Global," Ethan announced to the shocked board members. "And right now, live telemetry is tracking an illegal breach of my personal security networks originating from Arthur Sterling’s private server."

Ethan looked at the board members. "Arthur Sterling didn't come here to merge our companies. He came to execute a hostile takeover by using forged documents, corporate extortion, and the illegal coercion of my family!"

"This is outrageous!" Arthur shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "He has no proof!"