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“I don’t think I should be the one to explain. You really should go upstairs—”

“Tawnie,” I barked, cutting her off.

“Mr. Stone, I—”

“Just tell me what the hell I’m walking into.”

“Colton,” Eleanor said sharply, her hand curling around my arm. It wasn’t a gesture of comfort but warning, her voice a firm reminder to rein myself in.

I shook my head, too fired up to listen, and stormed past both of them. My bag hit the floor of the lobby with a dull thud, but I didn’t care. My boots thudded against the polished wood as I made my way to the elevator, each step heavy with frustration and dread.

A million thoughts raced through my mind, each more damning than the last. I had my suspicions about what this was regarding, but I thought we’d handled it, thought we’d kept it contained. Clearly, I’d been wrong.

By the time I pushed into my office, my blood was boiling.

The lawyer stood behind my desk, his back to me as he stared out at the sprawling mountains beyond the glass. At the sound of the door slamming, he turned, his arms crossed over his chest. His suit was perfectly tailored, his expression unreadable.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I said coldly, lingering by the door. It felt strange, Ethan behind my desk while I stood at the threshold.

He exhaled heavily and stepped around the desk, gesturing for me to take my usual seat. The unspoken weight of the situation pressed down on me, and I reluctantly slid into the chair, bracing myself.

“She’s decided to sue Stone Ranch.”

His words landed like a blow to the chest, sharp and merciless. Daggers piercing my once impenetrable armor.

I stared at him, my grip tightening on the armrests. These ranches were more than just land and livestock to me—they were my legacy, my pride, and the source of livelihood for countless families. But now, that pride felt hollow, dwarfed by the looming threat of losing everything.

“What changed?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, anger simmering just beneath the surface.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I spoke with her lawyer this morning. Something shifted, but they didn’t say what.”

“Yeah, no shit something shifted,” I snapped. “I thought this was behind us. You assured me it was done.”

“So did I,” he said evenly. “The initial talks went well. She and her lawyer understood that Marcus acted on his own, that the ranch didn’t stand by his actions.”

I leaned forward, my voice dropping to a dangerous tone. “Then what the hell am I paying you for if not to handle this? To protect my people?”

This wasn’t just about me. If it crumbled, it wouldn’t be just me picking up the pieces—it would be all of them, too.

“I can’t force her hand, Colton,” he said, frustration seeping into his voice. “All I can do is fight this.”

“That’s not good enough,” I growled.

I slammed my fists on the desk, the sound reverberating through the room. Anger coursed through me, wild and unrelenting.

I didn’t even know the specifics of her demands, but the mere possibility of losing it all—the ranch, the people I’d worked so hard to protect—felt unbearable.

I took a long, deep breath before admitting the truth.

“She has every right to do this,” I muttered, more to myself than him. “If it were my family, I’d tell her to burn the whole damn place to the ground.”

Ethan stayed quiet, his face unreadable.

“Look, maybe it’s all the new exposure online,” Ethan said, sinking into the chair across from me. His tone was casual, but his words carried the weight of accusation. “Maybe she’s seeing Stone Ranch move on and up while she’s stuck dwelling on her terrible experience. Now she’s bitter.”

“What we won’t do,” I bit out, my voice sharp as a blade, “is blame someone who did her job correctly. She came here on your recommendation and executed exactly what she was instructed to do. If this lawsuit is her way of lashing out, then, once again, Ethan, it’s you who bears the blame for letting it get this far.”

Ethan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, wearing that smug lawyerly expression that made my blood boil. “Her approach was clearly the wrong one, putting you online and making Stone Ranch more popular when she should have been protecting your image.”