Patrick held up his hand. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. The more important issue is trying to keep you alive, because we’ve just spotted a very good reason someone might want you dead.”

As quickly as Gwen’s fears were raised, she realized how foolish it was. Uncle Oscar commanded the loyalty of the Blackstones and most of the other bank partners scattered across the world. Oscar already had the signatures of the other male relatives assigning him their votes for the merger.

“I can’t imagine anyone in my family is trying to kill Liam,” she said. “Last week my uncle locked up seventy-five percent of the vote in favor of the U.S. Steel merger, and all he needs is a simple majority. Even if Liam gets the ten percent back ahead of the vote, he can’t scuttle the merger. He can embarrass my uncle by exposing a rift in the family, but that’s the extent of it.”

The other twenty-five percent of the bank was owned by various investors all over the world, and most of them would probably vote in support of the merger as well.

Frankly, Gwen didn’t care about bank business. Right now, she only cared about how she could ease Liam back into the family. And the perfect opportunity was coming up. Every June her grandfather held a family reunion at his summer cottage. The gathering at the spacious, sprawling estate on a pristine island would be the perfect opportunity for Liam to meet everyone, but when she told Liam about it, he was skeptical.

“It sounds like a perfect opportunity for me to get snuffed out,” he said darkly.

“Liam, no one in my family is trying to kill you.” Frankly, she was embarrassed she had even considered the possibility. “And if you want to control my father’s votes at the July meeting, you must be at that reunion. The rules for the bank are very firm, and one month ahead of the vote, everyone who is authorized to vote must have their names submitted to the board for recognition. If you want those shares, you’re going to have to show up in person and get my grandfather to recognize you.”

“When’s the reunion?” Liam asked.

“Three weeks. We have a lot of ground to cover before you’ll be ready to meet everyone.”

He would need decent clothes, a haircut, and a lesson in basic manners. Once she helped Liam smooth down his rough edges, he could eventually fit into her family. He might even become the sort of older brother she’d always longed for.

She would not hold his upbringing against him. Her father would have rejoiced and killed the fatted calf to welcome Liam back into the fold. She would do the same. A seed of hope took root. It was time to extend the olive branch and begin afresh, for she had her older brother back.