Chapter 4: The Price of Silence
I kept my eyes on Julian.
“Did you sign it?”
“It was a preliminary agreement.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“Yes,” he said.
“I signed it.”
Celeste leaned against the counter.
“There.
Now we’re all being honest.”
My fingers slipped from the folder.
Julian caught it before it struck the floor.
“You were going to sell without telling me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By removing me?”
“By ending the losses before they took your house and pension with them.”
Celeste gave a soft laugh.
“He put a price on your memories, Eleanor.
Very practical.”
Julian faced her.
“You don’t get to use this.”
“I didn’t hide the agreement from my mother.
You did.”
My knees weakened.
The bride stepped down from the pedestal and pulled a velvet chair toward me.
“Please sit,” she said.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Her voice softened.
“And you shouldn’t have to pretend after what happened.”
I sat because my legs no longer gave me a choice.
Julian crouched beside me.
“Mother, after Dad passed, three locations began losing money.
Victor’s store was the worst.”
“And you never wondered why?”
“I did.
That’s why the audit started.”
“You started an audit after signing away control?”
Celeste checked her watch.
“This family discussion is moving.
Unfortunately, some of us have fittings.”
Lena stepped into her path.
“You knew those gowns were donated.”
“Move.”
“You told Victor to sell them privately.”
“Prove it.”
Lena touched her screen.
Celeste’s voice filled the salon.
“Remove every charity label before Friday.
My clients don’t need to know where the gowns came from.”
Victor rushed forward.
The executive caught his arm, but his hand struck Lena’s phone.
It fell against the marble counter, and the screen shattered.
Lena gasped.
“My recording!”
Victor pointed at the broken phone.
“Unauthorized recordings are useless.”
“Not if they expose financial misconduct,” Julian said.
Celeste looked at Lena.
“Your younger sister works for a Rutherford hotel, doesn’t she?”
Lena’s face tightened.
“It would be unfortunate if her position disappeared because you misunderstood a conversation.”
I stood.
“You will not punish her family for telling the truth.”
Celeste turned to me.
“You don’t command anything here anymore.”
I lifted the letter of intent.
“This is not a final sale.”
“It will be by Monday.”
“Not without my founder’s vote.”
Victor’s smile returned.
“That vote expired last year, Mrs.
Mercer.”
Julian straightened.
“What are you talking about?”
Victor opened a drawer and removed a board notice.
“Your mother missed the annual governance meeting.
Under Section Nine, an absent founder surrenders special voting rights.”
“I was recovering from surgery,” I said.
“The board knew.”
“The notice was delivered to your home and signed for.”
He placed the receipt beside the letter.
My name appeared at the bottom in black ink.
I stared at the signature.
“That isn’t mine.”
Celeste picked up her handbag.
“A signature expert can decide that after the sale closes.”
Julian grabbed his phone.
“The sale is suspended.”
One of his executives stepped closer.
“Julian, there’s a problem.
The board called an emergency vote ten minutes ago.”
“How?”
Victor’s phone lit up on the counter.
He read the message and smiled.
May you like
“The vote passed,” he said.
“As of this moment, Julian is no longer chief executive.”
