To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 146

Elara looked away, her voice calm. "Divorce or war—you can choose. Or, if you're feeling ambitious, you can have both."

"Nice," Brian shot back, and turned on his heel.

Suddenly, Lina let out a theatrical little yelp. "Ow, my hand, Brian!"

He slowed, waiting for her to catch up. Lina hurried over and placed her bandaged wrist in his palm, her eyes searching his face. The two of them left together.

Elara felt nothing. Honestly, who hadn't had their heart thrown to the dogs before?

Three days later, Gage was discharged from the hospital.

Back at Celestial River Estates, the property management company showed up with baskets of apology gifts.

Elara accepted the gesture graciously but warned them not to let it happen again.

The online storm from the incident had been smoothed over by SiliconCrest Group's PR team almost immediately, but even so, the Vincent family's reputation took a hit.

Brian had been in crisis mode ever since, scrambling to placate shareholders. He was so busy he didn't even bother to check on Gareth, who'd been detained for five days.

Elara, for her part, had zero interest in the Vincent family's drama. She'd been buried in the lab all week.

The Synergy Summit was just a couple of days away, and Summer had finally managed to score an invitation.

But when she handed the pass to Elara, there was no trace of excitement on her face.

"Honestly, our company shouldn't even be allowed in the door right now. A few friends pulled some serious strings with the organizers to get us this invite."

Elara traced the gold lettering on the card. "What's wrong, Summer? You don't look happy."

"President Pangborn from Maude Investment Bank won't answer my calls or accept a meeting. This afternoon his people called again, pressing for repayment. I'm guessing Brian's putting the squeeze on him. At this rate, even if we make it to the Summit, we won't last the month."

"Isn't there anyone you know who can find out what he likes, where he goes?" Elara asked.

Summer shook her head. "Pangborn just got transferred here from the overseas branch. Hardly anyone knows him."

She leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "Rumor is he got kicked out of the country back there for some screw-up. But it's probably just gossip—he wasn't fired or anything."

Summer's grip tightened on Elara's hand.

They forced themselves to walk over.

Elara mustered her courage. "I'm sorry, President Pangborn. We're the heads of Ignition Dynamics. We're on your bank's blacklist, so this was the only way to see you."

Wayne's eyes lingered on her face, calculating, as if weighing her sincerity.

Summer jumped in quickly, "It's my fault we mishandled things with your bank. She just wants a chance to set things right. This was my idea, not hers."

Wayne's lips curled into a faint smile. The expression was almost friendly, but there was something unsettling about it—like seeing a puppet grin at midnight.

"I have a dinner engagement. But we can talk in the car."

Summer's face lit up with relief. "Thank you, President Pangborn."

He wagged a finger at her. "No, just me and this young lady."