Two screws.
One nameplate.
Nothing sentimental when viewed from across the room.
But I had carried that name through every Army office Arthur never asked about.
I had earned a rank he did not know.
Held assignments he did not understand.
Built a professional life completely outside the family business he once assumed defined success.
Then, when his company entered my authority, I had done the one thing he least understood.
Stepped away from power voluntarily.
Not because I was weak.
Not because Arthur ordered me out.
Not because Trevor asked me to protect the company.
Not because Evelyn wanted the family to look united.
Because the work deserved a result nobody could honestly call mine.
Mercer would either earn what it sought.
Or it would not.
The independent officer would decide through the proper chain.
I would not know early.