The snow came at Josie Larkin's face like blown sand, and she had lost a shoe somewhere behind her. Seven months pregnant, barefoot on ice, she stepped into the middle of the beltway and raised both arms to the sky because no one stops for a woman waving from the shoulder.

The black sedan swept through the high wrought-iron gates of the Ror Estate in Lake Forest just as the first gray light of dawn broke through the snowstorm.

The property was a massive stone mansion surrounded by ancient oaks, their branches heavy with fresh snow. Inside, the house was warm, smelling of cedar wood, old leather, and hot tea.

A team of private doctors had already set up a temporary medical bay in the east wing. Odessa was immediately wrapped in heated blankets and given IV fluids, her color rapidly returning under the care of a quiet, professional physician.

Josie sat on the edge of a large four-poster bed in a guest suite, her bare feet bandaged with soothing ointments, wearing a soft wool sweater provided by the estate staff. She held a mug of hot soup between her hands, staring out the tall window at the snow-covered grounds.

A soft knock sounded at the open door. Emmett walked in, carrying a thick leather binder under his arm.

"How are your feet?" he asked, standing near the fireplace where a warm fire crackled.

"They hurt," Josie said with a faint, tired smile. "But the doctor said there's no permanent frostbite. And the baby is fine. Strong heartbeat."

Emmett let out a quiet breath of relief. He walked over and placed the leather binder on the small table beside her.

"What is that?" she asked.

"My father's personal ledger," Emmett explained, pulling up a chair opposite her. "I spent the last two hours going through the digital archives from the shipyard where David died two years ago."

Josie set her soup mug down, her hands trembling slightly. "What did you find?"

"David wasn't just a worker on the docks, Josie," Emmett said softly. "Three weeks before his accident, he discovered that Julian was using Ror cargo ships to traffic undocumented gray-market steel for an illegal construction project in South America. David threatened to go to the federal inspectors."

Josie’s breath hitched in her throat. "So it wasn't a broken crane cable..."

"No," Emmett said, his voice tightening with suppressed fury. "Julian paid off the shift supervisor to report it as an equipment failure. Then he tried to force David's trust shares back into corporate hands before anyone realized David had passed them to you."

"That's why those men came to the Blue Kettle tonight," Josie realized, horror dawning on her face. "They knew I was seven months pregnant. If I signed those waivers, my baby would have no legal right to David's name or his shares."

"Julian knew that if those shares remained in your hands until the child was born, you would hold the deciding vote on the board of directors," Emmett added. "You would have the power to force a full audit of the company. He was terrified of you, Josie."

Before Josie could process the weight of his words, the door to the suite opened. Grady Nolan walked in, carrying a snow-dusted radio.

"Emmett," Grady said, his face grim. "We've got a problem down at the docks."

Emmett stood up immediately. "What happened?"

"Julian just filed an emergency injunction with the Cook County Sheriff's Department," Grady reported. "He’s claiming that you used union workers to commit armed robbery at the Calumet terminal. The police have locked down Yard Three. And Julian's lawyers just issued a court order demanding the surrender of all property related to the Larkin estate by noon today."

Josie stood up, panic returning to her chest. "They're going to use the police to take the records!"

"Not while I'm breathing," Emmett said coldly. He turned to Grady. "Where is the union leadership?"

"Standing by at the Hall," Grady replied. "Two hundred men are already lining up outside the courthouse in downtown Chicago. If you give the word, we can shut down every Ror facility from Milwaukee to Gary."

"No," Emmett said, stepping toward the window and looking out at the clearing storm. "A strike plays right into Julian's hands. He'll use it to declare bankruptcy and hide the assets in offshore accounts. We don't shut the company down. We take it from him."

He turned back to face Josie, his dark eyes fixed on her with absolute conviction.

"Josie," Emmett said. "The annual Ror Enterprises Shareholders' Meeting is scheduled for two o'clock this afternoon at the Boardman Tower downtown. Julian thinks he's going to walk into that boardroom, declare your shares void, and lock in his control."