It Was Never a Gift

The heavy thud made Finn startle in his sleep.

“Careful,” the attending nurse warned, stepping in.

Ingrid didn’t glance at her.

Across the cover of the document were the words Irrevocable Transfer of Corporate Equity, and beneath them Adele’s full name, the date, and a signature line marked in bright yellow highlighter.

Leopold drew an expensive pen from his breast pocket and set it beside the folder with the ceremony of a man who had closed a thousand deals and never once expected to lose one.

“Sign it,” he said.