Chapter 10 - Dawn Over the Hudson
By 6:00 AM, the conference room was swarming with federal regulators and public-interest attorneys whom Julian had summoned hours before. Thorne had been escorted out the service elevator in handcuffs, clutching an empty leather briefcase, his reputation ruined as decades of off-shore shell accounts unraveled in real time.
Samuel sat by the window, watching the sunrise paint the Hudson River in shades of amber and rose. Clara brought him a paper cup of black coffee from the breakroom. He took a slow sip, his old shoulders finally dropping their defensive tension.
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"You knew Arthur forged it back then, didn't you?" Julian asked, standing beside the chair. "You let him take the fall of running an empire because you knew it would destroy him, not you."
"Your father thought power was something you held in your fists, Julian," Samuel said softly. "Power is like water. If you close your hands around it, it slips away and leaves you dry. If you dig a trench for it, it feeds an entire valley."
