Chapter 96

MADISON’S POV The ward was big, and the air thick with sick gossip and heel of foot. My dad, Mr. Harrington, was slumped in the ward corner against the bed, frowning and furrowing his brow with disgust. My mum, sore-armed, pacing tight up and down, her tense eyes darting from my brother, Michael, to me. Dad sat with his arms crossed over him by the window, his face darkening under its customary scowl. Something none of us wanted to see: the arrival of a flock of shareholders descending onto the ward like carrion birds to pick at what was left from the bones of the Harrington reputation. Here they were, and that's what he had out there in numbers. A bald man with receding hairline, already identifying himself as Mr. Langford, scrubbed his face using a handkerchief. "Mr. Harrington, stock shares are falling like a rock. We'll lose our part, we'll lose it all if it continues to drop." My dad stayed quiet with a pursing of his lips into a line. Another shareholder, Mr. Caldwell, sneered. “