Chapter 18 - The True Empire
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I looked from Arthur to my father, my mind spinning violently. "Dad, what is he talking about? What transition? What files?"
Arthur looked at me, a gleam of dark amusement in his eyes. "He never told you, did he? Your father’s ‘companies’ are not just a portfolio of assets, Emily. They are a throne. Abraham Yates isn't just a boss. He is the head of the Syndicate. And by the ancient rules of their charter, upon your first wedding anniversary, the reigning patriarch must either pass the mantle of leadership to his bloodline... or his bloodline must be severed to prevent a war."
The room spun. I looked at the documents Brandon had thrown on the floor earlier. They weren't just asset transfers. They were abdication papers. Brandon had been trying to force me to sign away my legal rights to the Yates bloodline, effectively removing me from the Syndicate's succession.
"I tried to save you!" Brandon suddenly screamed from the corner, spitting blood onto the floor. "I tried to get you out! If you sign the papers, they leave us alone! I was trying to save your soul from him!"
"By chaining me like an animal and breaking my legs?!" I screamed back, fury momentarily overriding my agony.
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"It had to look real!" Brandon cried, weeping pathetically. "The Syndicate was watching! They had to believe you were forced out, that you were too weak to rule! If you just signed, we could have taken the money and run!"
I stared at the man I had married, realizing the depth of the nightmare I was trapped in. Brandon hadn't just been greedy. He had been terrified.
