Andrew grinned. "You heard me right—I meant exactly what I said. To put it bluntly, I need the Ulrich family under my control. I need a puppet to manage things on my behalf."

Ryder's face darkened. "So basically, you want me to be your puppet? Trying to 'hold the king and command the lords'?"

Before he could finish his dramatic analogy, Logan smacked him across the face. "Ryder, you're seriously a pile of crap. 'Hold the king'? Who the hell do you think you are, royalty?"

He added, "The Ulrich family isn't an empire, and you're no emperor. Can you stop flattering yourself and spouting this nonsense like you passed eighth-grade civics?"

Ryder turned red, realizing just how out of touch he sounded.

Even Andrew could not help but smirk, thinking this guy was something else. All he wanted was someone obedient to help him steer the Ulrich family, and here Ryder was, acting like he had just been offered a crown.

After thinking for a moment, Ryder shook his head, essentially refus