Chapter 28: The Shared Throne

They entered the boardroom. The board members were waiting. Amelia Vance smiled. The CFO nodded. The others—the ones who had doubted, who had sided with Stern, who had believed the lies—looked at the floor.

Elena and Julian took their seats. Together. Equal. Unafraid.

The meeting began.

And somewhere, in another life, George Vane was watching.

You’re not a leader, he had said.

But he had been wrong.

Julian Vane was a leader. Not because he had inherited a company. Not because he had worn a crown. But because he had been brave enough to take it off.

Because he had learned that real power was helping someone else shine.

Because he had found a partner who saw him—really saw him—and loved him anyway.

The glass desk gleamed under the lights.

Transparent. Unbreakable.

THE END