Takeover: A Step-Brother Romance (The Legacy Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

eventually. We’d wear her down, offer her more money than they deserved for their empire, and treat the Atwood name with a delicacy they hadn’t earned.
    But I didn’t anticipate my father gloating at a press conference and announcing our intentions, and I hadn’t realized how much she hated our family. The feeling was mutual, but our rivalry existed between Mark and his sons. Undoubtedly, her father had twisted her, confused her, and used her.
    Sarah didn’t even realize the legal complications she created. The stock would tank. Investors would run. Customers would pursue safer companies.
    Of course, my offer would stand.
    At a substantially reduced price.
    “Follow me.” Our father’s voice didn’t echo, but it boomed over the foyer.
    Reed clapped me on the shoulder as he crossed into the study, but Max shared my glance, recognizing our father’s strained cadence.
    While Mark Atwood built his home with every decadent and gaudy architectural mistake, the Bennett estate hadn’t changed for generations. The French manor, framed with Corinthian stone and imported marbles, was beautiful. Spanning foyers and elaborate halls separated vast wings of meticulously sculpted woodwork and refined parlors. Dark woods and darker colors warmed the mansion, and the masonry forged a certain stonework elegancy.
    The study surrounded a roaring hearth with floor to ceiling book cases and mementos of my family’s world travels. The most recent addition was a photograph upon the mantle, dressed in a solid silver frame and held in a strict reverence of coiled garland.
    My father’s wedding picture—an image of him and Bethany Atwood embraced in their first kiss.
    We hadn’t questioned the photograph.
    My father motioned for me to sit in the wingback mirroring his leather chair. He made no such arrangements for Max or Reed.
    He rarely smoked, but a cigar clipped and passed to me first. He left the box for my brothers and reclined. I let the smoke settle over me. Max puffed and relaxed. Reed waved the smoke away from his neck.
    “Our family is being tested.” My father’s rage blazed like the red-hot end of his cigar. “This company is facing a series of challenges we haven’t encountered in many years. It is up to you, my sons, to save us.”
    Max nodded. Reed stood, motionless. My father awaited my reply.
    “Of course,” I said. “We’ll do whatever is necessary.”
    “The company bears our name. It is the source of our pride, and our face upon this world. And now? We find ourselves in a precarious position.” He drew on the cigar. “We need Atwood Industries. I want Atwood Industries.”
    Max spoke first, a mistake he consistently made. “Christ. Atwood Industries will bankrupt the family. We can’t keep throwing money at the rat’s nest and hope it burns through the trash.”
    My father’s fist clenched. I didn’t have time to intercede.
    “Mark Atwood was a blight upon this world. You should be grateful the demons snarled through the dirt to drag his worthless, miserable hide to Hell.”
    Max didn’t hesitate. “I am.”
    “It is a benefit to this family that his sons have died and the scourge of the Atwood name has been scoured from the earth.”
    “What about Sarah?” Reed said.
    My father silently seethed, his wrath centering upon whatever memory he harbored of the girl.
    “In this lifetime, we’ll face two sets of people. Those who oppose us, and those we may use for our own advantage. The Atwoods opposed us.” The chill in his words would extinguish the cigar. “I will spend every cent, pursue every outlet, and spill blood to redeem our family and ensure the Atwoods are cast into the gutter of their own shame.”
    Reed frowned. “And so that means giving them more money than the accounts are worth? How does that vindicate us?”
    I waved a hand. “Money is nothing. It’s made and spent, wasted and created every day. But there is only one Bennett family. And now, only one Atwood remains.”
    My