Page 2 of The Hunter's Empire

Mikkel ignores him. "Marcus and I built those businesses together. Forty years, and now I'm supposed to believe he cut me out completely?"

Leonora reaches for his sleeve. "Mikkel…"

"No."

Margrethe turns on me instead. "You did this, didn't you?" She says. "You were always his favorite. The little princess who could do no wrong."

Heat rises in my chest, but my voice stays level. "I had nothing to do with Dad's will. If you're angry about his decisions, you're a few months too late to argue with him about them."

Mikkel lets out a humorless laugh. "Easy for you to say while you're sitting on the throne."

"You think I asked for this?"

"I think you're benefiting from it."

"Enough." Leonora says sharply. "Fighting with Zora isn't going to change what Marcus wrote."

Mikkel drags a hand through his hair and turns back to Rasmund.

"So that's it?" He asks. "You're telling me none of it was ever mine?"

Rasmund folds his hands over the documents. "Legally speaking," he says, "there is no record of your ownership in those businesses."

Mikkel stares at him. "What?"

"No partnership agreement. No shares. No contracts assigning control or profit." Rasmund's expression doesn't change. "Marcus Krogen was the sole registered owner."

Silence crashes into the room.

Mikkel shakes his head once. "So forty years means nothing?"

Rasmund holds his gaze. "In legal terms, without documentation? Yes."

The room suddenly feels much smaller. And for the first time since this started, Mikkel has nothing to say.

From the couch, Tobias does not even look up from his phone. He just sighs like the whole thing is exhausting. Nikolaj and Katya stay equally quiet, but I catch the way Nikolaj’s eyes flick toward Katya for a long second. She meets his gaze, and something passes between them, something sharp and private that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It does not look like simple family boredom.

For a moment I wonder if they are already plotting how to get around this, but the longer I watch, the more it feels like something else entirely. No one else seems to notice, so I push the thought aside. I have bigger problems right now.

Then Margrethe starts pacing.

"I cannot believe this." She says, running her fingers through her hair. "Marcus always said family came first. He promised we would be taken care of."

"The will is authentic." Rasmund says evenly. "Marcus reviewed it with me several times over the last year. He was very clear about his intentions."

Mikkel lets out a sharp laugh. "Oh, he was clear all right."

His eyes land on me. "Clear that his own brother and sister meant nothing."

"And now Zora gets everything." Margrethe adds.

The anger climbs another degree.

"You only showed up when there was money to be made." I say. "A deal to close. A profit to split. The difficult parts were left to Dad and the rest of us."

Margrethe turns toward me so quickly I almost expect her to point a finger in my face. "How dare you."

"It is true."