Arianne continued checking the displays in Alex’s study. She looked at the photo a mont longer than necessary before setting it back down. The earliest photo of the twins was dated years after she’d moved away.
Nothing in the study appeared disturbed. The shelves and desk remained arranged exactly as Alex had left them. Dust gathered along the edges of the shelves rather than their surfaces. Even the chair behind the desk was pushed in neatly, its position unchanged. It was as if he would appear anyti, but Arianne knew that was impossible.
The desk faced the window, angled to catch the afternoon light without glare. Arianne noted which drawers were labeled and which were not. Alex had always separated working material from finished plans.
anwhile, Franz stared at the docunt he was holding. He paused when he saw the company na on the header.
Franz noted the proposal’s date and the margins filled with revisions. A venture like this posed a high risk to the Rochefort Group. Even he could tell how complex his brother’s plan was.
He turned the folder once in his hands before opening it fully. The paper stock was thicker than that used for standard internal reports. He noticed the margin notes, reading them out of order. It was clearly Alex’s handwriting—tight and deliberate.
This wasn’t sothing drafted casually. These papers had been revised, reconsidered, and then set aside. It hadn’t been revisited since Alex’s passing.
"Auntie! We’ll go to our room! Leo forgot to bring his tablet!" Lily exclaid.
"Don’t run," Arianne reminded them. "Make sure you don’t bring too much."
"Okay!"
Arianne watched as the twins ran out of the study, each carrying another bag to hold their stash of toys, before she glanced at Franz.
Franz remained still, the folder open in his hands. Whatever decision had been made about this proposal, it had been made quietly and left where it was.
"What’s wrong?" she asked, moving closer to him.
Franz blinked, then looked at her. He handed her the folder.
"I found this in one of his drawers. I never thought he was working on this before his death. Lucas never ntioned anything about it."
Arianne accepted the folder and read the first page.
"Lucas might not be aware of its existence," she replied evenly, turning the page without comnt.
She didn’t linger on the projections, but she paused at the risk assessnts. So sections were incomplete. Others had placeholders where data should have been. The structure Alex prepared was sound, but the support wasn’t there yet.
Arianne closed the folder once, reopened it, then continued until she reached the end. The last page was unsigned but noted as prepared by Alex.
"But why would he keep it a secret from the board? I don’t understand," Franz muttered.
"Well, sothing like this won’t easily pass the board. Alex would need to ensure he covered all the bases before presenting such an idea," Arianne comnted, her eyes scanning the contents of the folder.
"I suppose you’re right," Franz said, and nothing further.
"The proposal is quite promising, but it’s missing a few essential details," Arianne continued. "Sothing like this would require extensive research and data to push through. Alex must have known this."
Franz rested a hand against the desk. The surface was cool beneath his palm, free of clutter except for what had already been examined.
"If Alex presented this as is, you think it wouldn’t make it?"
Arianne nodded once. "Yes."
That answer seed to settle sothing for him. He looked back at the folder, then at the drawer it had co from.
"Is it really hard to secure an investnt from the Mythos Group?" Franz asked.
Arianne glanced at him briefly before answering.
"It’s only natural that they are strict and deliberate. We are talking about millions—if not billions—of dollars here."
Franz checked the docunt again. Alex’s ticulous revisions and notes on each section told him that his brother had prepared it painstakingly.
"Have you heard of the Mythos Investnt Group before?" he asked Arianne after a long silence.
Arianne closed the folder and handed it back to him.
"I have, but it’s impossible to tell how they would receive this kind of proposal," she replied.
"Should we pursue it then?"
She shook her head.
"The Rochefort Group isn’t stable enough to consider this path at the mont," she answered truthfully. "In my opinion, the board would also reject this idea if it’s presented half-baked."
Franz stared at her and didn’t ask another question.
For now, he chose not to push the topic further. He replaced the folder in the drawer it had co from.
For a mont, the study fell into silence except for the faint sound of laughter from the end of the hallway. Lily’s voice could be heard, asking Leo for help picking up fallen dolls from her stash.
Lily’s voice rang from the hallway, calling Arianne and forcing them to drop the subject.
"Auntie! Auntie! We’re ready to go!"
Lily appeared in the doorway with her brother. Each of them was holding bags filled with personal items—mostly toys.
"Did you get everything you wanted? Are you sure you didn’t forget anything?" Arianne asked the twins. "It might take so ti before we can visit again."
Lily didn’t answer imdiately. She pondered whether there was anything she’d forgotten, then shook her head.
She turned to her twin brother.
"You got everything, right?"
Leo nodded as he struggled to hold an overstuffed bag. Arianne noted the smile on his face—so different from his downcast expression over the past few days.
Arianne stepped out of the study and took the bag from the young boy. She checked its contents before redistributing the weight so he wouldn’t struggle carrying it.
Franz stacked the remaining folders neatly before setting them aside. The study was left as they had found it, with nothing disturbed beyond what had already been handled.
"All right," she said, turning toward the twins. "It’s ti to go."
Franz closed the study door behind them.
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