There was a long silence on the other end. “The house Ryan and Vanessa live in? Leonard, that property is valued at $14 million. Why the sudden rush?”

“Last night, Ryan gave me thirty reasons to liquidate it,” I replied, my voice completely devoid of emotion. “Call Arthur Pendelton at Apex Capital. He’s been trying to buy that specific lot to build a modern mega-mansion for months. Tell him if he can wire the full cash amount by 10:00 a.m. today, I will sell it to him for $10 million. A $4 million discount for immediate closing.”

“Ten million cash? He’ll jump at that in a heartbeat,” Marcus said, his professional tone kicking in. “But Leonard… what about Ryan? Where will they go?”

“They have until noon to figure that out,” I said coldly. “Send the papers.”

30 Minutes of Absolute Power

By 8:30 a.m., Ryan was undoubtedly sitting in his high-rise office downtown, wearing a tailored suit paid for by my allowance, feeling like a god because he had beaten his old man. He probably thought I was hiding in shame.