Chapter 1 - THE SILENT AWAKENINGThe basement was cold, smelling of damp concrete and the metallic tang of Phoebe’s blood. While Russell and Gwendolyn laughed upstairs, clinking champagne glasses to celebrate my "punishment," I was busy rewriting the future. My brother, Grant, was the head of the Walton security and intelligence division. He didn't just run a business; he ran a global operation that made the Vaughn conglomerate look like a lemonade stand.
"Grant," I whispered into the burner phone, my voice steady for the first time in six years. "Russell has violated the marital contract, but more importantly, he has endangered a Walton heir. I want full liquidation of every Vaughn asset currently held in our clearinghouse. And I want the Aspen fire reports. All of them. Unredacted."
"Consider it done, Heather," Grant replied, his tone icy. "We’re four hours out. The air rights over Lake Forest are ours as of ten minutes ago. Sit tight."
