“Grace.”
“You needed the Bennett Trust to sign a permanent transfer of the navigation patents.”
“Those patents haven’t generated independent revenue in years.”
“Then why did you need them?”
“For clean title.”
“No.”
Her voice remained level.
“You needed them because without my father’s routing architecture, Harbor Crown values the operating company at forty-two million.”
Nobody spoke.
Grace continued.
“With the patents, they value it at one hundred and nineteen million.”
Ethan’s eyes flicked toward the folder.
“Where did you get that number?”
“From Harbor Crown.”
His face went still.
Grace nodded.
“Exactly.”
A board member named Alan Brooks leaned toward Ethan.
“You told us the purchase price was seventy-four million.”
Ethan looked at him.
“It is.”
Alan’s voice changed.
“You had an offer for one hundred nineteen?”
“No.”
Grace slid another sheet across the table.
“Yes.”
Alan picked it up.
Martin leaned closer.
Rebecca stopped typing.
