My right foot—the heavy, unresponsive deadweight that had mocked me from my wheelchair for eight long years—rested slightly askew against the footrest. The tiny twitch was gone, but the phantom burn of it lingered in my nerves like a live wire.

“My dearest Caleb,” her voice seemed to echo softly in the dusty silence of the tower.

“If you are reading this, it means you finally found your way out of the dark. I always knew you were stronger than any chair, any bullet, and any enemy they threw at you. Julian was just a pawn; the real head of the Vanguard is someone closer than you think—someone who sat at your table, drank your scotch, and watched you mourn.”

My eyes scanned the words, a sudden, electric chill running down my spine.

“Check the security logs from the night of the accident. The person who disabled the hospital's east-wing cameras wasn't Julian. It was the man who inherited your corporate seat.”

The corporate seat.

Viktor Vance. Arthur’s cousin, and my current chief operating officer—the man I had personally mentored, promoted, and trusted to run day-to-day operations while I was paralyzed.

Before the thought could even fully solidify in my mind, my phone buzzed violently in my pocket.

It was Marcus.

I swiped the screen and brought the phone to my ear. "Marcus. Report."

"Mr. Marino, we have a situation at the estate," Marcus's voice came through, tight and laced with urgency. "Viktor Vance arrived unannounced ten minutes ago. He claims he's here to discuss emergency board restructuring, but he brought an armed private detail. They've bypassed the outer gates."

My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. "He didn't come to discuss restructuring. He came to finish what Julian started."

"Should we engage?" Marcus asked, the sound of safety switches clicking off echoing faintly in the background.

"Hold your position," I ordered, my voice dropping into an icy, lethal register. "Do not let him know you know. Play dumb. Let him walk right into the winter garden."

"Understood, sir. What are your orders?"

"Lock down the interior perimeter," I said, turning and striding swiftly toward the spiral stairs. "I'm on my way back. And Marcus?"