Silas Marino bent down.

At six-foot-two, towering over a three-year-old child, the motion looked entirely unnatural for a man whose spine was usually forged from cold-rolled steel. He lowered his head just enough for Poppy to slap a crooked, glitter-dusted strip of yellow construction paper onto his dark hair.

“There,” Poppy declared, stepping back with her hands on her hips to admire her handiwork. “Now you’re the king of everything.”

Silas blinked, a rare, faint shadow of amusement crossing his stern face. He reached up and gently touched the paper crown. “Does this crown come with absolute immunity from board meetings?”

“No,” Poppy said seriously. “It comes with juice.”

Mara watched from the doorway, her heart still hammering against her ribs from the document she had glimpsed on his desk. Emergency Transfer of Authority. The words felt less like a contingency plan and more like an execution order.

Silas looked up, his dark eyes catching Mara’s across the room. The humor vanished from his gaze instantly, replaced by a sharp, calculating stillness.

“Mara,” he said quietly, standing back up and removing the paper crown with care. “A word in the hallway.”

Mara’s breath hitched, but she nodded and stepped out into the quiet corridor.

“You saw the papers on my desk,” Silas stated flatly, not asking a question.

Mara didn’t lie. Lies with Silas Marino had a short shelf life. “I saw a heading. Emergency Transfer of Authority.”

“And what did your instincts tell you?”

“That someone is planning to make you disappear before tomorrow morning,” Mara replied, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. “Graham Voss didn't draft that document to protect your empire. He drafted it to inherit the wreckage.”

Silas stared at her for a long moment, a slow, dangerous realization dawning in his eyes. “I thought I had isolated my inner circle from external vulnerabilities. It seems I missed a snake in the grass.”

Before Silas could say another word, the heavy oak front door of the mansion shuddered.

A sharp, hollow thud echoed through the foyer.