Page 147 of Money Reigns

---

“Reckless. Careless. Squandering every advantage, every opportunity. Do you think your name will shield you forever? Through every flop you create?”

Wilder’s smirk is gone.

He stares at our father with ice in his eyes. “Fuck you.”

I shove back from the table.

The chair legs screech against marble.

My hand finds Olivia’s, firm, pulling her up with me. “We’re done here.”

The three of us move as one.

Me. Wesley. Wilder.

Storming from the room like a front breaking open.

But his voice follows.

Sharp. Final.

“Just once, Warren, I wish you didn’t disappoint me.”

I stop.

Every muscle locks.

Rage claws up my spine, tearing through me.

He still thinks I’m chasing shadows.

But Olivia’s hand is in mine, and for the first time in my life,

I’m walking toward something real.

I don’t look back.

We walk out.

***

I sit on the edge of the bed, the drink I’d been nursing abandoned on the nightstand, fury still burning low in my chest.

My father’s words echo.

The look on her face at that table.

It guts me.

I can still see the way her shoulders tensed, the flush of shame rising to her cheeks, shame that wasn’t hers to carry.

I wanted to put my fist through his skull.

But worse than that… I let it happen.

I put her in his path. Let his poison touch her.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for it.

---