Chapter 19 - The Takeover
I held Adrian’s head in my lap, tears mixing with the rainwater pouring from the ceiling. His pulse was thumping wildly against my fingers.
“Clara...” Adrian choked out, struggling to raise his hand to my cheek. “Take Mia... get out of here...”
“No!” I sobbed. “I am not leaving you!”
Mia stepped beside us, her eyes wide with tears, clutching Gerald. “Mr. Adrian, don't sleep! You promised to take us to the park!”
Eleanor walked closer, holding out the tablet. “Ten minutes left, Clara. Sign over the shares, or he dies.”
I looked at Eleanor, then at the tablet, and finally down at Adrian’s fading eyes. A sudden, cold clarity washed over my mind.
I reached out and took the tablet.
“Smart move,” Eleanor smirked.
I didn't enter the trust access codes. Instead, I pressed a red icon on the top corner of the screen—a personal override button Adrian had shown me days ago inside his Tribeca penthouse.
“What are you doing?” Eleanor’s smirk vanished.
“Adrian gave me full power of attorney over Kane Global three days ago,” I said, my voice rising with absolute authority. “I just initiated a total, irreversible liquidation of every asset owned by the Kane family trust. Five billion dollars just transferred directly to the Bellevue Children’s Hospital Charity.”
Eleanor’s jaw dropped in complete, horrifying disbelief. “You... you destroyed the empire!”
“No,” I declared, looking her straight in the eye. “I destroyed you. Without the money, Damon’s syndicate won't protect you. You have nothing left.”
Sirens wailed in the distance as dozens of federal vehicles surrounded the building.
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Tactical medics rushed into the warehouse, pushing Eleanor to the ground as they injected an antidote serum directly into Adrian’s chest.
Adrian gasped, his eyes flying open as air rushed back into his lungs. He sat up, coughing violently, and instantly pulled Mia and me into his arms, squeezing us so tightly I thought my ribs would crack.
