"Tell Zach that if his Alpany wants to make it, he needs to go public, apologize, and take all the me himself."


    "And get someone from the IRS to look into Tara''s finances. I remember she helped Dylon move some assets around before."


    He turned to Reese then, his face softening. "Don''t worry. No one who messed with you is getting away with it."


    The sharp smell of disinfectant hung in the hospital air as Reese stared down at Mr. Ratcliff''s report. The words te stage" and "poor prognosis" felt like needles stabbing at her eyes.


    Even Mr. Ratcliff''s doctor had pulled her aside in private earlier and told her quietly, "I''m afraid your grandfather only has a few weeks left. As his family, the best we can do is make sure he''s at peace for the rest of his time."


    She looked up at the pale, frail old man lying in the hospital bed. A mess of emotions crashed over her.


    Mr. Ratcliff leaned back against the pillows, his voice weaker than before. "I don''t have much time left. All I want now is for you and that stubborn boy to work things


    out.


    "Reese, I heard you filed for divorce. You want to leave him.


    "I know I made mistakes. I''m part of the reason things turned out this way between you and Sebastian.


    “But all I ever wanted was for you two to be happy together."


    Reese looked at the man who was nearing the end of his life. She knew that if she wanted to fix the mess at Ramos Corporation and get her mother''spany back, she needed Mr. Ratcliff''s help.


    Whatever his real intentions, at least he''d promised to help her. And she knew he didn''t have more than two months left.


    Just a little longer, she told herself.


    Two months. She could wait that long. Divorce was inevitable.


    Reese took a breath, her voice steady. "Grandpa, I can drop thewsuit for now.


    "But I''m not moving back in with him.


    "My marriage with Sebastian is over. That''s not going to change.


    "I''m only doing this for you. I want you to feel at peace, at least.”


    She paused, her tone unyielding. "But you have to promise me.


    "Until you''re gone, Sebastian can''t mess with my work or my life, for any reason. And he can''t use our marriage as an excuse to force me into anything.


    "When you''re gone, I''ll file for divorce again. Right away."


    Mr. Ratcliff met her steady gaze and knew this was the most she was willing to give.


    Still, if he could just keep them married a little longer, even if the chances were slim, maybe something would change between them Maybe they''d find their way back to each other. No matter how


    unlikely, he had to try. It was thest thing he could do for the Ratcliff family.


    He sighed and nodded. "Alright. I promise. I''ve already sent people to handle things at Ramos Corporation."


    Reese could see how tired he was. She stayed with him for a while longer, then quietly said goodbye.


    A littleter, Sebastian walked into the hospital room. He nced at his grandfather, worry lining his face. "Grandpa take care of things with Reese. You need to focus on getting better."


    "And how exactly do you n to


    ''take care of it''?" Mr. Ratcliff shot et


    back, ifitation clear in his voice "Going to force her intoing back again?


    "Reese isn''t the type you can push around. The more you try to control her, the


    further she''ll run."