Asher adjusted the cufflinks he couldn't afford.
The penthouse was just as he remembered it. He was the only one who had changed. With hair slicked back and a neatly tailored suit, he hated how well he fit in. Or pretended to.
Julian's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "Stop slouching. You look like a guy who buys on payment plans."
"I do buy on payment plans."
"Not tonight. Tonight, you're my foreign asset manager with clients richer than whole cities, and you were dumb enough to forget to manage my assets for twenty years because you're just that booked."
Asher grimaced.
Julian kept going, because of course he did. "Speak slowly, Knox. Rich men don't rush. And stop using words like 'affordable.' Say 'bespoke,' say 'exclusive,' say 'strategic portfolio pivot.'"
"I don't even know what that means." Asher pointed out.
"Exactly. Neither do they. That's the game."
Tonight, he was meeting Vincent Hale.
Well...Marrick was. He was just along for the ride and to say whatever Marrick asked him to.
Asher exhaled through his nose. Rolled his shoulders back. "And if he asks about the client?"
"You tell him your clients don't get out of bed for anything under a hundred million. Which is true, because I'm dead."
There was a pause. Then Julian added, quieter, "He doesn't get to think he won. Not in this building. Not after what he did."
The elevator dinged.
Asher's spine straightened.
Vincent Hale walked in like he owned the place. Because he did... technically. For now.
He looked like someone who'd figured out the ending to a chess game twenty moves ago. Smooth grey suit, no tie, confident half-smile.
"Asher Knox," he said, shaking his hand. "You don't look foreign."
Asher revealed a tight smile. "I'm not. But the money is."
That earned a brief chuckle. Vincent stalked the space like he was sizing up prey. "My assistant said your client is interested in Marrick Tower?"
"Not interested. We're acquiring. Not just the Tower. All of Marrick's assets."
Vincent paused, just a fraction. "I wasn't aware it was for sale."
"It's not," Asher said. "But the company with legal ownership, Julian Marrick's private holdings, was absorbed by my firm years ago. You've been squatting on ghost assets, Mr. Hale."
Julian whispered in his ear, satisfied. "There it is. You're speaking like a tycoon, Knox."
Vincent smiled with all teeth now. "And you just found this out?"
Asher lifted the thick folder from the table, copies from the ledger. Names, shell companies, assets funneled into phantom accounts. "Let's just say, we have bigger business in hand, the books were overdue."
Vincent didn't move for a second too long. Then he sat. "I always admired Julian's... resourcefulness. But if this is a bluff, you should know, I play for blood."
Asher didn't blink. "So did he."
Vincent leaned forward. "Let me guess. You want a payout to make this go away? A slice of the pie?"
Julian scoffed. "He's baiting you. Don't bite."
Asher tilted his head. "I'm not interested in your pie. I'm interested in setting the table right again."
Vincent sat back. "You have no idea how this world works, do you?"
Asher smiled faintly. "I'm starting to."
Julian muttered, "He's rattled. Watch, he's going to try and flip it."
Vincent's tone shifted. Cold now. "Let me give you some advice. This world? It doesn't care who's right. It rewards winners. Julian forgot that. That's why he's dead."
"Still here, jackass." Julian muttered.
Asher stayed calm. "Did you kill him?"
Vincent didn't even flinch. "Of course I did."
Silence dawned.
Then he added in a smug tone. "He was going to expose me. Ruin me. Said the company meant something. That the towers each had a soul. Can you believe that? A soul. I made it worth billions. And he wanted to torch it all for some pathetic sense of legacy."
Julian had gone dead quiet.
Vincent stood. "I pushed him. Just a little. He lost balance. Or maybe I pushed harder than I thought. Either way, gravity took care of the rest."
Asher's heart thudded, but he didn't move.
"Do you know what it feels like," Vincent said, circling him slowly, "to watch someone fall and realize your problems are over?"
He reached inside his jacket.
Julian shouted, "Knife!"
Asher ducked. The knife caught the edge of his sleeve.
Vincent lunged again, Asher stumbled backward, nearly hitting the floor as he tried to block him with the folder.
Then the atmosphere shifted. The lights flickered off.
A gust of cold slammed through the penthouse. A tall shadow flickered across the glass.
Vincent froze.
Then Julian's voice filled the space. Not just in Asher's ear. In the room itself.
"You always were a coward, Vincent."
Vincent spun, knife trembling.
The table shook. Lights sparked. The mirror behind the bar cracked clean down the middle.
"Thought you could bury me?" Julian's voice echoed, deeper now. "This is still my tower."
Vincent backed away, shaking. "This isn't possible."
Asher stood, breathing hard, eyes on Vincent. "You wanted to win. This is your prize."
Red and blue lights flashed outside. Sirens roaring.
The fire alarm went off, right as the doors opened.
Officers flooded in, guns raised. Vincent quickly dropped the knife.
They cuffed him fast. He didn't resist. Just kept whispering like his mind had been broken "I killed him. I killed him. But he's not gone. He's not gone."
As they dragged him out, Asher followed him to the door, calling after him.
"Julian wanted you to know something."
Vincent turned, blood on his lip, eyes wild.
Asher didn't smile. "You never beat him. You just ran out the clock."
---
Asher sat on the windowsill of the penthouse, tablet balanced on his knee, watching the news anchor spiral.
"In a shocking turn, billionaire Vincent Hale has been arrested on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and the murder of real estate magnate Julian Marrick…"
A grainy photo of Vincent, disheveled and handcuffed, took over the screen.
Julian whistled low beside him. "I always said he'd die on the front page. I just didn't expect it to be in cuffs."
"It's not even been a week. It feels surreal," Asher said, not looking away.
Julian crossed his arms. "Surreal is just reality without the manners. Now, it's time to open the folder."
Asher turned. "Our deal already ended."
"Oh be quiet. Do as you're told." Julian huffed.
The manila folder lay untouched on the desk, next to the matte-black briefcase he had retrieved from the vault at Beck, Ronin & Co.
He opened the folder first.
It contained legal documents. Transfer of ownership. All assets moved to a phantom company, to be activated the moment Julian was declared deceased.
There was a blank space at the top. Company name.
Julian leaned over his shoulder. "I was thinking… Knox Holdings."
Asher froze.
"You've got a good face for business. Just smug enough to scare investors, soft enough to charm the board."
Asher blinked. "This...this is real?"
Julian nodded at the briefcase. "It's in the contract. Go ahead."
Asher entered the code Julian had told him earlier. The briefcase clicked open.
Inside, there were several key cards, encrypted drives, and a red envelope marked with a number: $12.6B.
Asher's throat dried. "You...you laundered all this?"
"Offshore. Untouchable. Untraceable. Legal... mostly."
Asher just stared.
Julian rested a hand on his shoulder. "This was never about the money. It was about finishing my story right. I'm not some suicidal tycoon...just a man who trusted the wrong person."
Outside, headlights flared, catching Asher's attention. He peered out the window.
The same limo. The man in the top hat stood beside it, cane in hand, eyes invisible behind dark glasses. He inclined his head like he knew Asher was watching.
"They're here for me," Julian said, softly. "Time to go."
Asher stood with him.
Julian extended a hand. "This tower...it was my first business venture. Take care of it for me, will you?"
Asher nodded solemnly.
"Execute my will. Everything else? Your payment."
Julian grinned. "Besides, you'll need some incentive. Can't look like a sell-out in front of your next client."
Asher laughed, quiet and stunned. He hadn't even expected one tower, not to mention the entire MARRICK empire.
"Thank you," Julian said, voice hoarse for once.
They shook hands. One solid, final time.
Then Julian turned and walked out. Past the door. Disappearing down the hallway.
Asher sat back down, breathing in the silence that followed.
He picked up the pen. And after a moment of silence, signed the file.
Asher Knox, CEO – Knox Holdings.
And for the first time, the suit felt like it fit.