The red stain spread like a gunshot wound on the white linen.
Ivy stood frozen, the heavy crystal decanter trembling in her hand. Under the table, Bruno's hand was still on her thigh. His fingers dug into her flesh, a grounding anchor in the chaos she had just caused.
Clive stood up, throwing his napkin down. "Look what you did! That's a five-thousand-dollar suit!"
Ivy tried to step back, but Bruno's grip was iron. He was trapping her there, forcing her to endure the humiliation.
"I'm so sorry," Ivy stammered. Her face burned.
Bruno finally released her leg. He calmly picked up his napkin and dabbed at the wine on his sleeve.
"It's fine," he said. His voice was dangerously calm. "It's just wine. And I have plenty of suits."
He looked up at Ivy. His eyes were dark pools of amusement.
"Besides," he added, lowering his voice so only she could hear, "red is your color."
Silas cleared his throat. "Sit down, everyone. Ivy, get a towel."
A maid rushed forward to clean the mess. Ivy sank back into her chair. She felt like she was going to vomit.
Clive glared at her. "You are useless," he hissed.
Silas tapped his fork against his glass.
"Enough drama," the patriarch said. "We have business. The merger contracts are finalized. But legal says we need an addendum."
He pulled a document from his jacket pocket and slid it across the table toward Ivy.
"A prenup amendment," Silas said. "It states that upon marriage, all voting rights associated with the Wallace shares will be transferred permanently to Clive. You will retain the dividends, of course. But no voice in the boardroom."
Ivy stared at the paper.
This wasn't just a prenup. It was a castration. If she signed this, she would never have the power to save her family. She would be a rich, silent pet.
"Sign it," Clive said. "It's standard."
Ivy looked at the pen. Her hand shook.
If she didn't sign, Claudia would punish Lucia. If she did sign, she lost her only leverage.
"I… I need to read it first," Ivy said.
"Read it later," Silas snapped. "Sign it now. We have investors waiting for the announcement in the morning."
The pressure was physical. It pressed down on her chest.
"Boring."
The word cut through the tension like a knife.
Bruno was leaning back in his chair, swirling his wine.
"Excuse me?" Silas asked.
"I said, boring," Bruno repeated. "You're bullying a girl into signing away her birthright. It's pathetic, Father. Even for us."
Clive slammed his hand on the table. "Stay out of this, Bruno!"
Bruno ignored him. He looked at Ivy.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
"Let's make this interesting," Bruno said.
He pulled a gold coin from his pocket. He rolled it across his knuckles.
"I have a veto right on the board," Bruno said. "Everyone knows that."
Ivy nodded. It was the most powerful tool in the company. The ability to block any single decision.
"I'll make you a bet, Ivy," Bruno said.
Silas stood up. "Bruno, stop this nonsense."
Bruno's eyes locked onto Ivy's.
"If you can raise the Wallace stock price by ten percent in the next thirty days… without my father's help… I will sign over a legally binding proxy for my veto vote."
The room gasped.
That veto right was worth billions. It was absolute power.
"But if you fail," Bruno continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "you sign that paper. And you give me… a favor. Any favor I ask."
Clive laughed nervously. "She can't do that. She doesn't know anything about business."
Bruno didn't look at Clive.
"Do we have a deal, niece-in-law?"
Ivy looked at the contract. Then she looked at Bruno.
He was giving her a ladder. A dangerous, slippery ladder that climbed out of hell.
Ten percent in thirty days. It was impossible.
But it was a chance.
Ivy stood up. She picked up her wine glass.
She looked at Claudia, who was fuming. She looked at Clive, who was sneering.
Then she looked at Bruno.
She raised her glass.
"You're on."
As she held his gaze, a forgotten detail surfaced in her mind-a line item in a preliminary merger report she'd glimpsed on Bruno's tablet. An undervalued subsidiary. A hidden asset. It wasn't just a bet. It was a hunt. And she had just spotted her prey.
