By the time the waiter cleared our dessert plates and Liam signed the check, the afternoon sun had shifted, casting long, dramatic shadows down the Manhattan grid.
"I have to head back to the office for a quick meeting," Liam said, checking his watch as we waited for the waiter to return with his card. He reached across the table, his thumb wiping a stray crumb of rosemary bread from my bottom lip with a gentle smile. "The court-appointed trustees have the forensic accountants in today. We’re finally starting the corporate liquidation of the Vanderbilt assets."
I felt a small, satisfying thrill at the word liquidation. "So it’s really happening? The whole empire?"
"Every last brick," Liam nodded, his eyes turning serious for a brief second. "I have to sign off on freezing the offshore a
