Sign the Papers Mr. Langford novel Chapter 250

Franklin glared at her. "Are you giving me an ultimatum?"

"Isn't this exactly what you taught me?" She stood up. "Family should settle the books first, so feelings don't get hurt later."

With that, she grabbed her bag and walked out.

As she reached the door, Franklin's voice echoed behind her.

"Harrison is in love with someone else. Did you know that?"

Clara paused.

She didn't turn around.

"I know."

"And you don't mind?"

There was scrutiny in his question, along with a barely detectable hint of probing.

Gripping the strap of her bag, Clara suddenly remembered the look on Harrison's face when he had mentioned Wren the night before.

He hadn't pretended to be indifferent.

Nor had he romanticized his feelings into some epic tragedy.

That honesty was exactly why she felt they could work together.

Being in love with someone else wasn't the biggest headache in the world.

The biggest headache was being in love with someone else while forcing everyone around you to pretend you weren't.

"I would mind if he had no idea what he was doing," Clara replied. "I don't mind that he knows exactly what he's doing."

She walked out of the Thorne Estate.

The morning air was biting as her driver pulled open the car door.

Clara slid into the backseat, the sharp edges of her composure slowly dissolving.

Her reflection mirrored in the windowpane.

Her makeup was flawless; her expression was completely stoic.

But deep down, she was utterly exhausted.

Growing up, the Thornes had never given her the luxury of being a child. Since her grades were perfect, they had to remain perfect. Since she was capable, she was expected to shoulder the family's burdens. Since she never cried or complained, they simply assumed she didn't need comfort.

Eventually, she had learned to treat every relationship as a legally binding contract.

Contracts weren't warm.

But they were clear.

And clarity meant no one could ever use emotional blackmail to wrap a noose around her neck.

At 10:00 AM, Clara arrived at Stellaris.

The boardroom was already packed.

Wren, Phoebe Price, Maya Merritt, and Harrison were present, while Julian York had dialed in remotely. Stacks of the newly revised authorization protocols littered the table, and half-erased notes covered the whiteboard.

"We will exclusively support the patient data ethics module. The cash flow will be fully segregated, the reviews will be independent, and all external statements will be handled separately. Every single conflict of interest involving the Xander Fund, the Stellaris team, and your clinical consultants must be thoroughly documented."

Harrison sat beside them, flipping through documents without interrupting.

Clara shot him a look. "Harrison's past history with Wren must also be explicitly stated in the risk disclosures."

The boardroom plunged into a half-second of absolute silence.

Maya's eyes slowly widened in shock.

Phoebe immediately whipped her head toward Wren.

Wren, however, barely reacted. She simply asked, "To what extent?"

"Strictly for internal compliance, no tabloid gossip," Clara replied. "If someone tries to weaponize this against Stellaris down the road, I want irrefutable protocols to slap them with, rather than scrambling for excuses."

Harrison looked up. "I agree."

His voice was completely flat.

But Wren still glanced his way.

Harrison held her gaze, offering a small, imperceptible nod.

By throwing those unspoken, long-buried feelings right onto the table, Clara had single-handedly annihilated any chance for ambiguity to thrive.

Clara wasn't afraid of a little awkwardness.

If anything, she considered it an absolute necessity.