Later that evening, as Lily walked out of the corporate building into the cool night air, a rival business magnate—a man who had clashed with our family for years over contracts and territory—had his town car idling at the curb.

The tinted window rolled down halfway. “Your parents are legends, Lily,” the man murmured, his eyes assessing the cold confidence radiating off her.

“They built an empire that half this city is afraid to cross. But word on the street says you’re going to be worse than both of them combined.” Lily didn’t smile. She didn’t flinch.

She simply met his gaze until he was the one who looked away, then stepped into her own car and left him staring at her taillights, an unsettling certainty settling over him.

He understood, then, what I already knew: the succession was secure.

Chapter 6: Blood and Light

A year later, the delicate Baccarat crystal clinked softly in the grand dining room of my estate—a sound in stark contrast to the violence that had birthed this peace.