"You're making excuses," George said flatly. "If you'd stood firm, he would have backed down. They always do when you show them you're not afraid."
The sheer delusion in that statement left Keaton momentarily speechless.
Did his father genuinely believe that? Or worse—had he always been this way, and Keaton was just seeing it clearly now?
"You want to know why I backed down? Fine. I'll tell you." Keaton heard himself say, the words spilling out before he could reconsider.
George's expression changed slightly, suspicion creeping into his eyes.
"I backed down," Keaton continued, his voice drawled playfully, "because Grayson Maxwell showed me something very interesting during our conversation."
The hover car turned a corner. For a moment, the passing headlights from another vehicle swept through the interior. The light caught Keaton's eyes, making them gleam with something that might have been satisfaction or might have been rage.
"They showed me a legal file,"
