"This is all Reese''s fault, you know," Jane said, her voice getting sharper. "If she''d just spoken up for me at the door, I wouldn''t be sitting here right now."


    "Enough!" Sebastian snapped. He shot to his feet and kicked the table, the crash echoing through the empty interrogation room and making their ears ring. "Even now, you''re trying to me Reese for everything? She''s my wife, your daughter- inw. She''s part of the Ratcliff family!"


    Jane sneered. "Didn''t Grandpa talk to you before he died? Didn''t he say Leslie was the one who killed him? Reese is no daughter-inw of mine"


    Sebastian red at her. "What did you just say?"


    "I said Reese isn''t really a Ratcliff," Jane spat. "After all these years, when have you ever treated her like a real wife? She''s just some girl who tricked her way into this family. She doesn''t deserve the Ratcliff name."


    "Mom!" Sebastian''s voice cracked.


    Her words cut deep, stabbing right through him. Jane wasn''t wrong. He''d never truly seen Reese as family, never treated her as his wife. She''d just been the convenient answer to his grandfather''s wishes, a way for him to inherit Ratcliff Global without a fuss. He''d never cared about her feelings, never defended her when others looked down on her. Even now, now that he finally realized his feelings for her, he was still selfish-always seeing things from his own point of view and pushing her further away every time.


    A government agent walked in, face cold. "Quiet down. This isn''t your living room, it''s an interrogation room. Save it for your official statements, and keep it down."


    Sebastian took a shaky breath and forced himself to sit. Frustration and regret burned in his chest. He reyed everything that had happened recently, and the more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. He''d never really seen Leslie for who she was. She yed him like a fool, and by covering for her, he''d nearly destroyed everything his family built.


    Half an hourter, Jane was still insisting she knew nothing, but it didn''t matter. The evidence was solid. She was arrested for helping steal national secrets, and her refusal to cooperate only made it worse.


    Sebastian, meanwhile, was cleared. The investigation showed he hadn''t known what Leslie was up to, so he was free to go.


    But Bridger Lake was full of gossip, and everyone was watching the Ratcliff family. The moment Jane was taken away, rumors started flying around town, each more dramatic than thest.


    The next morning, Ratcliff Global''s stock tanked the minute the markets opened. Billions vanished from thepany''s value in the blink of an eye.


    In the boardroom, the directors'' faces were stormy. Anger and frustration hung thick in the air, all of it aimed at Sebastian, even though he wasn''t there.


    "Looks like since Mr. Ratcliff passed, even Sebastian can''t keep it together," one of the senior directors said, breaking the tense silence.


    "This has been a disaster for thepany. The stock price is in freefall our partners are pulling their investments, and we''re losing clients. We need to do something about Sebastian


    Another director nodded. "His personal mess cost us too much. If we don''t act, he''ll drag the wholepany down with him."


    "I think it''s time for a new chairman. Changing leadership is the only way to save our reputation."


    "I agree."


    "Me too."


    Hands went up around the table-it was clear. Most of them wanted Sebastian out.


    Meanwhile, Tara had already heard the news and rushed back to her parents'' house first thing in the morning.


    "I can''t believe Sebastian would


    go


    this far for another woman," Tara said, pacing in the living room. Her face was flushed, either from excitement or total disbelief.


    "Will you sit down already?" Rosieined, rubbing her temples. "What are we going to do now?


    Reese got out of the NSB without scratch, but your father''s still locked up. No one can see him except his<pwyer."