At my parents’ 30th anniversary dinner, I arrived in a suit and tie expecting to celebrate with my family. Instead, I discovered that my seat had been given to my sister’s new boyfriend.

When I returned to the Regency Room, the main course had just been cleared.

My family was seated around the long table. A projector screen had been set up at the end of the room near the fireplace, displaying a glowing title slide: VANGUARD LOGISTICS: THE FUTURE OF FREIGHT.

Derek was standing beside the screen, holding a small clicker, looking flushed with excitement. My parents were sitting near the front, looking like proud investors already calculating their returns.

Mom spotted me and gestured frantically to the empty seat beside Uncle Rick. "Connor! Hurry up! Derek is about to start his presentation!"

I walked over and sat down in the chair.

For the first time in my life, I was sitting at the head table.

My name card sat in front of my plate: CONNOR.

I looked at the silver lettering, feeling zero warmth. Zero satisfaction. It was just plastic and cardstock.

"Everyone," my father stood up, tapping his glass with a spoon. "If I could have your attention for a moment! Tonight is about celebrating Mia and Derek. But Derek has an incredible vision for a company that we believe is going to change this family's financial future forever. We're proud to support him, and I know my son Connor is going to share some exciting news about how his firm can help back this project!"

Applause broke out around the table. Mia beamed, blowing a kiss to Derek.

Derek stepped up to the podium, adjusting his tie. "Thank you, George. Thank you, everyone. Tonight, I want to talk about efficiency. In logistics, the biggest problem is tracking—"

The heavy double doors at the back of the Regency Room opened.

Peter Hastings walked inside, accompanied by two associates and Marcus.

The room went dead quiet.

Dad’s mouth dropped open. He instantly recognized the billionaire. He stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the hardwood. "Mr. Hastings! What a surprise! We... we didn't expect you to join our private room!"

Derek’s clicker froze in his hand. His face turned a sickly, pale shade of grey.

Hastings didn't look at my father. He didn't look at Mia. He walked straight down the center aisle of the room, stopping three feet from Derek’s presentation screen.

"Mr. Miller," Hastings said, his voice echoing clearly off the high ceilings. "I received your message requesting twenty minutes of my time tonight."

Derek swallowed hard, his throat making a dry clicking sound. "Uh... yes, Mr. Hastings! I... I have the slide deck ready right here—"

"I won't be needing the slides, Derek," Hastings interrupted smoothly, pulling Folder One from under his arm and setting it on the podium beside Derek’s clicker. "Because I've already reviewed your previous three ventures."

Mia frowned, looking between Derek and the billionaire. "Previous ventures? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Apex Delivery Solutions," Hastings said, looking around the table at my family. "Which defaulted on forty thousand dollars in contractor debt. And Omni-Route Technologies, which is currently the subject of an active civil lawsuit for commingling investor capital with personal credit accounts."

My mother stood up, her cheeks flushing bright red. "Excuse me! Who are you to come into my daughter's engagement party and say these lies?!"

"These aren't lies, Mrs. Bell," Hastings replied coldly. "These are public court records provided to me by an institutional partner who values financial honesty."

Hastings turned his sharp eyes toward Derek. "My firm is pulling all consideration for Vanguard Logistics. And if I find out you've used my name or Vance & Sterling's name to solicit funds from anyone else in this city, my legal team will file an immediate injunction."

Hastings turned on his heel, looked at me sitting at the table, and gave me a single, respectful nod.

"Goodnight, Connor," Hastings said.