Katherine shook her head and went back to shoving documents into her briefcase. "Philip, we are done here."

  The brief delay had given Morthisal a moment to study Philip Brennan's face. The clenched jaw. The way the man's fingers pressed white against the tabletop. Philip wanted four billion dollars, but that wasn't the real hunger behind those demands. A man who wanted money would have named a number and negotiated. Philip had named a board seat and shares. He wanted to sit in the room where decisions happened. He desired recognition, revenge, and the feeling of winning.

  Morthisal sent a thin thread of power across the table and wrapped it around Philip. Not enough to control him. Just enough to soften the walls.

  Yvette loudly sighed and said, "Philip, a moment. I'm sorry it's come to this. Truly. I wish I'd made more of an effort to know you over the years. That's my failing."

  Morthisal added a touch more power, this time tinged by what he had recently learned about empathy. Philip's rigid posture loosened a fraction. His shoulders dropped half an inch.

  "I don't need your pity," Philip said, but the venom had thinned.

  "It's not pity. It's regret." Yvette held his gaze. "My father never talked about you. That was wrong. You say you helped build the foundation of what Sterling Global became. I had no idea. So when you came at me with this lawsuit, I assumed you were just trying to get rich. I wish you had come to me and been open about what happened between you and my father."

  Katherine Marsh opened her mouth, but Yvette continued without pause.

  "I feel like I need to make up for your feelings and for the time you were kept away from Sterling. So here's what I'm prepared to offer. First, I will create a formal position within Sterling Global Solutions. Founding Legacy Advisor. It comes with a public title and a seat at our annual strategy summit. You will be introduced at every board meeting and recognized in all corporate materials as a founding contributor to the company."

  Morthisal fed another sliver of power into the thread. Philip blinked. The frown line between his brows softened.

  "A title," Philip repeated. "That's nothing."

  "It's recognition," Yvette corrected him. "The thing you said you wanted thirty seconds ago. But I'm not done."

  Katherine leaned forward. "Ms. Sterling, I'd advise you to stop—"

  Yvette didn't turn her head. "Second, I'm prepared to offer a cash buyout of five hundred million dollars. Half a billion. Wired to any account you name within seventy-two hours of signing. No stock dilution. No board complications. No drawn-out legal circus. It will be clean and simple."

  Morthisal pushed again. Gently. Philip's jaw went slack for a moment before he caught himself.

  Anil shifted in his chair. His wire-rimmed glasses had slipped down his nose. He pushed them back up and stared at Philip with wide, unblinking attention.

  "Half a billion dollars," Anil whispered.

  "Anil," Philip snapped.

  "Sorry." Anil pulled the tablet against his chest, but his knee bounced under the table.

  Morthisal leaned toward him and spoke in a low voice. "That is set-for-life money, Anil. And I still owe you that visit to the set."

  Anil swallowed hard and nodded once.

  "And the deal stays between us," Yvette added. "No press. No public filing. You walk away clean and rich. Or—" She paused and gestured toward Katherine. "--you spend years in court, rack up fees that I can only imagine Ms. Marsh charges, and gamble on a judge who may or may not see things your way. Why add legal fees to half a billion dollars?"

  Katherine's face flushed red. "Ms. Sterling, you are attempting to circumvent—"

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  "I'm attempting to solve a problem, Ms. Marsh. You should want that, too."

  Katherine pressed her lips into a hard line but said nothing more.

  Morthisal held the thread steady and added one final nudge as Yvette spoke again.

  "Third, I will arrange a meeting with the press and the Sterling Global board to publicly honor your contributions to the company's founding. A ceremony. Photos. A plaque in the headquarters lobby with your name on it. Your story told the way you want it told. You will be added to the new employee intro videos."

  Philip stared at her. His mouth worked, but no words came out. Morthisal felt the resistance in the thread waver, then buckle. Not broken, but bent.

  "Half a billion," Philip said quietly.

  Yvette had told Morthisal, prior to the meeting, that this sum was only the starting number. She'd been prepared to go higher, if necessary. He wanted to make sure that did not happen.

  "Plus, the title. Plus, the public recognition. Plus, your dignity intact." Yvette folded her hands together. "That's my offer, Philip. Take it, and we can end this today."

  Philip turned to Anil. The young man pushed his glasses up again and cleared his throat.

  "That's a lot of money, sir."

  Katherine's flush deepened. She planted both palms flat on the table and leaned forward.

  "Ms. Sterling, what you are describing is a structured buyout designed to sidestep the legal process entirely. My client has medical documentation, witness testimony, and a judge who has already agreed to expedite. You cannot simply wave a number at us and expect—"

  "Ms. Marsh." Yvette's voice stayed level. "You are a seasoned attorney. You know the landscape of inheritance litigation better than most. A half-billion resolution is remarkable for a disputed sibling claim. You know this. Every precedent in inheritance court would support that figure as exceptionally generous. You know that, too."

  Morthisal had no idea if any of that was true, but silently applauded Yvette.

  Katherine's mouth opened and closed once.

  "You could spend three years in court fighting for four billion and walk away with a fraction of that after appeals, discovery costs, and your own firm's fees. Or Philip walks away today with half a billion, his name on a lobby plaque, and his name restored to the halls of Sterling Global." Yvette folded her hands. "The math is not complicated. Of course, you would personally be missing out on all those juicy legal fees…"

  Katherine straightened. "My client's interests—"

  "Are best served by taking this deal," Yvette said.

  Morthisal's reserves were almost depleted. He had one, maybe two pushes left before he ran out. He wrapped a thin thread around Philip and held it. His hand shook, so he firmly grasped it in the other and put them in his lap. For the first time, wielding his abilities left him feeling drained. The thread wanted to drift away, but he forced it to stay in place with sheer willpower.

  Behind Philip, Briggs loudly cleared his throat. A sound probably meant to communicate something to his employer. Philip's chin tilted a fraction, then stopped. The man's attention wavered toward Briggs. Morthisal pushed back gently, redirecting Philip's focus inward.

  Morthisal leaned slightly toward Philip and kept his voice low, almost conversational.

  "I have navigated many negotiations as an actor." He didn't mention the total amounted to roughly one deal a few days ago. "Agents always want their cut. A large one. It makes me wonder." He let the pause sit for a moment. "Is that what is happening here? Does the five hundred million dollar figure not offer Ms. Marsh's firm enough of a percentage to make this worth her time?"

  Philip blinked.

  Morthisal laced into the thread something simple: pure avarice. The oldest lever a negotiator could pull. He pictured the number in Philip's mind. Five hundred million dollars. Then he pictured a significant portion of it walking out the door inside Katherine Marsh's briefcase. Beneath the table, his hands trembled.

  "Mr. Brennan!" Briggs tried again.

  Philip's jaw worked. His fingers drummed once on the table, then stopped.

  Morthisal had almost nothing left. He tried to start a thread for Briggs, but it faded before it could take shape.

  Briggs said, "Sir. You told me to warn you if-"

  Morthisal strained again, and something remarkable happened. It was like the trickle of power in his head suddenly expanded. Reserves he didn't know existed sat there, untapped. He pulled a thread together and quickly directed Briggs to change his tune.

  "I mean, this is a great deal." Briggs lowered his voice and, with a nod, added, "Take it."

  Across the table, Anil had gone very still. The tablet rested forgotten against his chest. His wide gaze moved from Katherine to Philip, then back again. He gave a single, slow nod in Philip's direction, the kind of nod a person gives when they desperately want someone to make the obvious choice.

  Philip sat back in his chair.

  The room held its breath.

  "Done," Philip said quietly. "I'll take the deal."

  Morthisal's head swooned. A blinding headache exploded, and he wondered if he was having a stroke.