Chapter 405 Billionaire's Lies

• The Thompson Estate was alive today. And though the elegant beauty of the grand house, today was a day of laughter, commotion, and celebration. Today was Isla Wolfe's birthday, and the estate was filled with the sound of fellowship calls, a cacophony of laughter from children, and the far-off echo of joyful music on the breeze. The festoons were suspended in motion over the vast estate: balloons floated in light hues, and banners that declared "Happy Birthday, Isla!" were hammered up in all corners.
• Saben Thompson's room was to the side of the formal dining area, overlooking family grounds. The sun cast a golden spear of light out across the broad lawns, and the prospect should have been soothing. This morning it was like another fight waiting to blow.
• He had dressed in his typically immaculately creased suit—even, black, unwrinkled—but the tension in his posture cautioned that he had not been this at ease. Tonight would be a different sort of test. He was going to eat as a family with individuals who were not reluctant to good-naturedly playfully tease him.