Chapter 2 - Not Here
Ethan wanted to end the party immediately.
I stopped him.
"Not here."
He stared at me. Water dripped from my hair onto his jacket.
"Mom, she humiliated you in front of everyone."
"I know."
"Then why are you calm?"
Because anger had never been my most useful emotion.
I had built Carter Meridian Capital from a two-room office above a tire shop. I had survived a bank calling my first loan, a partner stealing clients, and a recession that almost wiped out everything I owned.
You learn not to waste rage when patience can collect evidence.
Inside the mansion, Ethan took me into a study and locked the door.
"Why are you dressed like this?"
I set the wet shopping bag on a leather chair.
"Because I wanted to meet Vanessa without her knowing who I was."
His face hardened. "You tested her?"
"I observed her. There's a difference."
Ethan paced once. "I told you she was nervous about meeting you."
"She wasn't nervous about meeting me. She was comfortable abusing someone she thought couldn't hurt her."
That stopped him.
I opened the waterproof pouch and removed my phone.
The recording was still running.
Ethan listened to Vanessa threaten the waiter. Patricia ordered my bag searched. George joked about missing silver.
Then came Patricia's whisper.
If that old woman gets involved, everything falls apart.
Ethan replayed it.
"What does that mean?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
He shook his head.
I asked, "What exactly are the Mitchells asking from you besides a wedding?"
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
"Ethan."
He exhaled. "George's development company wants Carter Meridian to finance a mixed-use project outside Atlanta."
"How much?"
"Two hundred and forty million."
I almost smiled.
Three weeks earlier, my risk team had flagged a $240 million Mitchell Development proposal for inflated land values and missing debt disclosures.
May you like
I had not known the applicant's daughter was marrying my son.
Until now.
