Chapter 6

Alondra walked out of the Arnold Global building. The cold Manhattan wind hit her face, and she took a deep, greedy breath of free air.

The sound of the shattering crystal was still ringing in her ears.

She walked to the curb and climbed into the driver's seat of the black SUV she had rented that morning. She gripped the steering wheel, started the engine, and merged onto the highway heading toward Long Island.

The trees blurred past her window. Her mind betrayed her, flashing back to her previous life. She saw the sterile hospital room. She saw her grandfather, Gardner Lang, lying in the bed, his skin gray, his breathing shallow, dying while the family company was torn apart by vultures.

Her eyes burned. A hot tear slipped down her cheek.

An hour later, the SUV pulled up to the massive iron gates of the Lang family estate. The gates swung open.

She parked near the central fountain. She grabbed her bag and walked quickly toward the main house.

The head housekeeper gasped when she saw her in the foyer. "Miss Alondra! Let me take your coat."

"Where is Grandpa?" Alondra asked, her voice tight.

"In the greenhouse, miss."

Alondra walked down the long, sunlit corridor and pushed open the heavy glass doors of the greenhouse. The air inside was thick, warm, and smelled of damp earth and blooming flowers.

Gardner Lang sat in his wheelchair at the end of the aisle. His silver hair caught the sunlight. He was wearing reading glasses, carefully trimming the dead leaves off a rare orchid.

Hearing her footsteps, the old man looked up. His wrinkled face broke into a wide, loving smile. "Ally."

Alondra's control snapped.

She ran forward, dropped to her knees on the damp stone floor, and threw her arms around his legs. She buried her face in his trousers and sobbed. The sound was raw, tearing out of her throat.

Gardner dropped his shears. His weathered hands quickly stroked her hair. "What is it, sweetheart? What happened?"

Alondra shook her head violently against his knees. "I was so stupid, Grandpa. I trusted the wrong people."

Gardner's eyes darkened. He gripped the armrests of his chair. "Did Gerard hurt you? I'll take my cane to that boy right now."

Alondra lifted her head. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. Her eyes hardened.

"No," she said firmly. "I made him sign the divorce papers. It's over."

Gardner looked stunned. Then, a deep look of relief washed over his face. He patted her cheek. "Good. Welcome home."

Alondra stood up. She walked behind his wheelchair and slowly pushed him down the aisle between the ferns.

"I want to come back to Lang Group," Alondra said, her voice steady. "I want to work."

Gardner signaled her to stop. He turned his head to look at her, studying her face to see if this was a fleeting emotional reaction.

Alondra met his gaze. She tapped her index finger against the metal handle of the wheelchair. "The supply chain for the new tech division is vulnerable. We are relying too heavily on single-source vendors in Southeast Asia."

Gardner's eyebrows shot up. That was a highly classified internal issue.

"And Isai," Alondra continued, mentioning her cousin. "You need to look closely at his financial routing for the SegaCorp acquisition."

Gardner sighed heavily. He rubbed his temples. "I'm getting old, Ally. The board is restless. Isai is ambitious."

"Let me handle him," Alondra said.

They talked for thirty minutes. Alondra outlined a flawless restructuring strategy.

Gardner pulled a pen from his vest pocket. He asked his assistant to bring a formal document. Right there in the greenhouse, he drafted and signed a formal Chairman's Authorization. It granted Alondra absolute, unquestioned executive control over the SegaCorp acquisition and explicitly noted the immediate initiation of her formal SVP nomination process with the board.

"SegaCorp is yours," Gardner said, handing her the paper.

Alondra walked out of the greenhouse holding the document. She looked up at the orange sunset. The fire in her chest was no longer pain. It was ambition.