Chapter 3
“Nora, please. Camille made tonight emotional. She had too much champagne and lost control.”
“Did she forge my signature?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“You submitted it.”
“I submitted a packet my finance team prepared.”
“Dad says it came directly from your executive authorization.”
He said nothing.
I looked at Mom.
She was already watching me.
“Reid?”
“I need you to come downstairs.”
“No.”
“Your father is going to destroy everything we built because of one terrible night.”
There it was.
Not our marriage.
Not my trust.
Not even Camille.
The company.
“You told me not to call him because you knew he’d find the payment.”
“I told you not to call him because he has never respected me.”
“My father gave your company twenty-two million dollars.”
“He invested twenty-two million dollars.”
“And what did you have before that?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“No, Reid. I think it’s the first relevant thing you’ve said all night.”
His breathing changed.
“Nora, listen carefully. If your father freezes Monday’s transfer, the acquisition collapses.”
“Good.”
“You don’t understand what that means.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No, you don’t. There are people involved who will sue. There are commitments. We could lose millions.”
“Then you should probably call Camille.”
“Nora—”
“She loves you.”
I ended the call.
For the first time that night, I felt calm.
At eight the next morning, I walked into my father’s office wearing jeans, a white sweater, and no wedding ring.
Dad was already there.
So was our family attorney, Evelyn Shaw.
Dad stood when I entered.
He didn’t ask whether I was okay.
He knew I wasn’t.
Instead, he opened his arms.
I crossed the room and hugged him.
For several seconds, I was six years old again.
Then he kissed my forehead and said, “We have work to do.”
That was exactly what I needed.
Evelyn pushed a folder toward me.
“We reviewed every transaction involving CF Advisory.”
“How bad?”
“Worse than the three hundred twelve thousand.”
She turned the first page.
Over eleven months, CF Advisory had billed Reid’s company for strategic consulting, acquisition research, executive recruitment, and market analysis.
Total payments:
$1,147,000.
My stomach dropped.
“Camille made over a million dollars?”
“Her company did.”
“I didn’t even know she had a company.”
Dad leaned back.
“Neither did we until yesterday.”
Evelyn continued.
“The larger problem is the acquisition.”