Layla's brows drew tight. Her patience had evaporated.
"One last chance."
She signaled her assistant, who stepped forward and held a tablet to my face.
On the screen: my father's hospital room. He'd been in a vegetative state for years, motionless in his bed. But he wasn't alone.
A figure stood over him, scissors poised directly above his oxygen tube.
"Withdraw the lawsuit, or keep your father alive." Layla's voice was ice. "Choose."
Blood surged to my skull. I screamed and lunged forward, but her bodyguards pinned me to the cold floor.
"Weigh your options," she said, looking down at me. "Do you really want to destroy everything you have for the sake of a dead woman?"
Her words cut deeper than any blade.
Years ago, when Layla had just taken over the Matthews empire, her iron-fisted leadership made dangerous enemies. She was kidnapped during a trade conference.
My father was the lead officer on that case.
In the moment between life and death, he took a bullet for her. He saved her life.