35

Sloane spends Monday with her mother sorting her late father’s books, both women grieving and reminiscing. Talk turns to Sloane’s tepid date with Kurt and to Lucian, who has recently canceled dinners and stopped returning her mother’s calls. While organizing papers, Sloane finds a paid invoice for an experimental cancer treatment for her father bearing Lucian’s name.

Sloane storms into Lucian’s office. Despite his cool dismissal and security summons, she demands answers. He admits the treatment was to give her father one more Christmas. When Sloane presses, she connects shell organizations—Yoshino Holdings, the Stella Partnership, the Bing Group—to grants that funded her library and the municipal building, revealing Lucian’s anonymous support.

Noticing her broken glasses in his desk, Sloane pushes further, asserting that Lucian loves her and has for years. Lucian denies it, citing the danger posed by his father and insisting there was never going to be an “us.” His actions—calling for escorts, ordering her vehicle swept, posting a guard—suggest lingering threats.

Overwhelmed, Sloane thanks him for the extra time with her father but declares a clean break: no more secret donations or protection. Before leaving, she orders Lucian to stop ghosting her mother and resume contact. Nolan arrives mid-tension, and Sloane departs, heartbroken but resolute.