The contract clearly stated that Caroline would officially take over the Lorenz Group on her 25th birthday.

Her father, Leonard, explained over the phone, not hiding his anger at the position Caroline had put him in. "You'll have to wait two years for the inheritance—and I'm not just making this up to give you a hard time," he clarified by saying, "It's the board's rule. Even if I had given it to Gloria, she'd have to wait two years too."

Caroline caught a hint of smugness in ...