Chapter 3

Raymond Keller arrived the next morning with three bankers' boxes and a laptop.

I was already showered and dressed. I hadn't slept, but I'd made coffee, and spent the night in my grandfather's study reading financial reports that made no sense, but I continued reading them anyway.

"I took the liberty of accelerating the timeline," Raymond said, setting everything on my grandfather’s... my dining room table. "Given the circumstances."

I hadn't told him about the wedding, but he was my grandfather's lawyer. He probably knew everything.

"Walk me through it," I said.

For the next four hours, he did.

Celestial Holdings was massive—twelve subsidiaries, operations in twenty countries, annual revenue in the billions. The current CEO was David Park, who'd been running the company since my grandfather's death.

"Park is competent," Raymond said. "But conservative. He's holding the company steady rather than pushing forward. The board has been restless."

"And with my shares?"

"You'll have majority control. You can replace him if you want. Replace the entire board."

I pulled up one of the documents. "It says here that Sterling Enterprises has a contract renewal coming up in three months."

Raymond’s expression didn’t change. "That's correct."

"What happens if we don't renew?"

"Sterling would lose their primary funding source. They're already overleveraged on several projects. Without Celestial's backing..." He paused. "They'd likely go bankrupt within six months."

I nodded slowly. "And if I wanted to replace the CEO?"

"You'd call a board meeting and vote, but with your shares, the outcome is guaranteed."

"Schedule it for next week."

Raymond smiled. "Your grandfather would be proud."

That word stuck in my chest. I'd spent so long trying to prove myself without his name or his money and now the only way forward meant using both.