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“No,” Truman shook his head. “It takes more courage to show restraint than to attack. I’ve lived long enough to know that.”
Kelsey ran her fingers through her hair, overwhelmed. “This is so far beyond anything I’m equipped to handle. One minute I’m worried about Noah’s science project, the next I’m discussing corporate takeovers and my enemy’s downfall.” She gathered her medical bag. “I need space to process this. All of it.”
“Of course,” Truman said gently. “Take whatever time you need.”
As she headed for the door, Mac followed. “Kelsey, I know you’re still angry with me, but—”
“I’m not angry anymore,” she interrupted, surprising herself with the truth of it. “I’m… overwhelmed. There are forces at play here I never imagined, and my son is somehow caught in the middle of all of it. I need to figure out what’s best for Noah.”
“I’d like to help,” Mac said softly.
She studied his face—the sincerity in his eyes, the tension in his jaw. Part of her wanted to lean on him, to accept his help navigating this unfamiliar terrain. But another part needed to stand on her own.
“I need to think,” she repeated. “About everything. About what kind of person I want to be in all this.”
Mac nodded, respecting her space. “Call me when you’re ready to talk?”
“I will,” she promised. As she walked to her car, the significance of what had just been offered settled on her shoulders. The power to crush an opponent with a single phone call—it was like something from a movie, not real life. Not her life.
Yet here she was, somehow entangled with people who could reshape financial landscape at will. People who were willing to use that power on her behalf. It was terrifying and humbling all at once.
As she drove away, Kelsey wondered what David would think of all this. Would he have wanted her to use the Costigans’ power against his brother? Or would he have counseled restraint, as she had?
Either way, one thing was certain: her simple island life had become anything but simple.
Chapter 17
The evening air carried the scent of freshly turned soil and salt from the nearby cove. Kelsey perched on an overturned whiskey barrel that Amy had repurposed as a garden seat, watching her sister attack a particularly stubborn root with a pickaxe. The determined swing of the tool sent soil flying. Her little terrier was happily running around, getting his snowy white feet plastered with dirt.
“I still can’t believe they just offered to destroy him,” Kelsey said, twisting the stem of her wineglass between her fingers. “Like they were deciding what to have for dinner.”
Amy paused to wipe sweat from her brow with the back of her gardening glove, leaving a streak of dirt across her forehead. “The ultra-wealthy live in a different universe than the rest of us.” She leaned on the pickaxe handle. “Pass me that wine, would you?”
Kelsey reached for the bottle nestled among Amy’s garden tools and topped off her sister’s glass. The late-evening sun flickered across the garden beds Amy had been rehabilitating for months. Behind them, the vacant old mansion’s windows caught the fading light, making them glow like watchful eyes.
“What exactly did the old man say again?” Amy asked, then took a generous sip.
“Something about controlling shares they’ve been secretly acquiring.” Kelsey shook her head. “I don’t understand the mechanics of it, but the outcome would be Jason’s financial ruin.”
Amy whistled low. “And they were just going to do this for you? No strings attached?”
“That’s what they said.” Kelsey stared toward the mansion. “It’s like they have this biblical power to smite people. And they’re just sitting on it, waiting for the right moment.”
“Or the right person,” Amy pointed out, returning to her digging. The pickaxe hit something solid, and she grunted with effort. “The stump of whatever was planted here goes down to China, I swear.”
Kelsey set her wine aside and stood. “Want me to take a turn?”
“Nah, I’ve almost got it. Just needed to vent.” Amy paused, leaning on the handle again. “So what are you going to do? Let them unleash financial Armageddon on Jason Prescott?”
“I told them no,” Kelsey admitted. “It just felt wrong somehow. Like it would be stooping to their level.”
“Their level being wealth and power?” Amy’s tone was teasing, but her eyes were thoughtful.
“You know what I mean. Crushing people, even terrible people like Jason.”
Amy attacked the stump again, loosening more earth around it. “Have you considered that if they did this, it wouldn’t really be you doing it?”
“What do you mean?”
