Chapter 4And Then She Spoke

"This is our final offer." Zander waved a hand dismissively. "Of course. I always keep my word in business."

What a perfect little act.

I sat on the couch, crushing the mint in my mouth between my teeth.

In ten years, Steven had learned the Sutton family inside out.

He knew what Dad cared about, where Julian was most vulnerable, and exactly what to say to make Yara give up fighting.

He had made it seem like he had done everything he could, and this was the best they could do.

Steven had convinced the entire Sutton family to walk into ruin willingly.

I stood up, walked straight to the conference table, and reached for the agreement.

This time, Yara stopped me. Her hand was cold, but she pulled me firmly back into my seat.

"Celeste, don't be difficult." Her voice was soft and gentle. "Sit still. It'll all be over soon."

She pressed down on my shoulder and forced me back into the chair.

They didn't see me as a threat and didn't think I could cause any trouble.

They just thought I was nothing more than a burden who needed to be kept under control. I was someone who would only get in the way when things went wrong.

Steven watched as I was forced into my chair, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.

He held out the pen again. "Mr. Richard, sign it."

Dad took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his eyes were dull and defeated.

As Dad took the pen, his hand shook badly.

The tip of the pen left a black blot of ink on the paper.

"Once you sign, it'll all be over."

Zander stood nearby, watching as everything went exactly as he wanted. The smile on his face grew wider.

I watched Dad's hand tremble.

Memories of the towering stacks of case files from my previous life came rushing back, along with all those days spent battling it out in court.

I had sworn I would never have anything to do with the law again in this life. I never wanted to get dragged into the ugliness of human nature again.

I looked at Steven's self-righteous face. My family was being driven into a corner, yet they were still grateful to the people responsible.

I couldn't hold back my anger anymore.

I was sick and completely fed up listening to all of this.

Just as the tip of Dad's pen was about to touch the paper, I shot to my feet.

I threw Yara's hand off me and moved so quickly that no one had time to react.

I rushed to the table and pressed my hand down on the agreement.

"Celeste!" Julian barked my name and strode over to pull me away. "Let go. Stop this nonsense!"

Anger crept into his voice.

I ignored him as I grabbed the thick document, flipped it hard to the third page, and slapped it down on the table.

Steven froze, then reached for the papers without thinking.

I looked up and glanced at him icily.

His hand stopped midair.

The entire conference room fell silent as everyone stared at me in disbelief.

I cleared my throat.

Then, clearly and calmly, I spoke my first words in this life as a member of the Sutton family.

"The main agreement and its attachments have conflicting jurisdiction clauses. If you sign this, the Sutton family will walk away with nothing and still be left with billions in debt."

I looked at Steven with a smile that never reached my eyes.

"Mr. Gould, it looks like you don't do much online shopping. Those discounts are pretty extreme."