The Woman Who Read the Will
Chapter 16 - The Woman Who Read the Will
Rumors connected Mason romantically to Elena Brooks.
They appeared in photographs leaving board meetings and court hearings together.
Both denied the speculation.
Elena had represented the estate and then served as independent counsel during restructuring. A relationship would compromise trust.
After her term ended, they remained friends.
Years later, Elena introduced Mason to Dr. Sofia Lin, an industrial safety researcher whose father had died at Plant Nine.
Mason expected resentment.
Sofia expected defensiveness.
Instead, they argued for two hours about whether worker-controlled inspection systems could remain independent after becoming part of management.
They continued the argument over dinner.
Their relationship developed slowly and privately.
Sofia refused to be described as the woman who loved him before or after wealth.
She met him after the inheritance and judged him through present conduct.
Mason kept separate counsel and financial boundaries.
When they eventually married, the ceremony took place in a public garden with twenty guests.
No corporate papers appeared.
No inheritance transferred.
Mason wore a plain steel band made from a safe Plant Nine engine component.
Sofia chose gold.
Different materials.
Equal promises.
Elena eventually left Aureus counsel because permanent proximity to the Reed family threatened the independence she helped create.
Mason wanted her to remain.
She refused.
“A system has not changed if one trusted professional becomes another family fixture no one questions.”
Her departure tested the new governance.
Other attorneys reviewed her work and found two minor errors, both corrected publicly.
May you like
Elena welcomed the review.
Integrity did not require pretending the people who saved evidence were infallible.
