Chapter 7 - The Desperate Ambush
The transition over the next two weeks was a whirlwind of professional triumph and personal liberation. Ethan moved his files into a sleek, sunlit office in downtown San Francisco under Mercer’s corporate banner, while my transfer paperwork to the Office of Naval Research was processed with dizzying speed through the Pentagon.
For the first time since we were married, our lives belonged entirely to us. There were no mandatory Sunday dinners where Richard picked apart Ethan’s portfolio, no condescending comments from Evelyn about my calloused hands or lack of interest in country club gossip.
Then, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Richard ambushed me outside the Navy liaison office in Alameda.
I was walking toward my car carrying a binder of telemetry reports when a black town car pulled abruptly against the curb, splashing muddy water across the asphalt. The rear door flew open, and Richard stepped out into the drizzle. He wasn't wearing an umbrella, and his expensive cashmere overcoat was rapidly soaking through.
“Avery! Wait!” he shouted, hurrying across the parking lot toward me.
His face was gaunt, with dark purple hollows beneath his eyes. The regal, untouchable patriarch from the country club had completely evaporated, replaced by a desperate, frantic man clinging to the wreckage of his former life.
“Richard,” I said evenly, stopping beside my driver’s side door. “You shouldn't be here. This is a restricted military installation annex.”
“I had to see you!” he pleaded, his voice trembling as he wiped rain from his forehead. “You won't answer my calls. Ethan blocked my number completely. His mother hasn't stopped crying for a week. Avery, you have to fix this!”
I looked at him in genuine bewilderment. “I have to fix this? Richard, you paid a fraud fifty thousand dollars to publicly tear me down in front of your peers.”
“It was business! Only business!” he cried out, grasping at straws. “I needed Ethan focused! I thought if you felt out of your depth, you would back down and let me guide his future! I didn't know Mercer would take it so personally! His syndicate blacklisted my firm. Three of my primary credit lines were frozen yesterday. If Arthur doesn't issue a statement clarifying that our fallout was a private misunderstanding, my firm will enter involuntary receivership by the end of the quarter!”
The sheer narcissism of his appeal took my breath away. Even now, standing in the rain, facing total financial ruin, he wasn't apologizing for hurting me or betraying his son. He was terrified only of losing his social standing and his money.
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“Richard,” I said, my voice quiet, firm, and devoid of anger. “You treated Ethan like an asset on a balance sheet and treated me like a liability. You thought your wealth gave you the authority to dictate honor, courage, and service. You were wrong.”
“I’ll apologize!” Richard dropped his head, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “I’ll host another dinner. A public gala! I’ll donate half a million dollars to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society! Just call Mercer. Tell him we’re family. Tell him Ethan and I have reconciled. He respects you, Avery! He listens to you!”
