Chapter 2 - The Price Of Paper
The heavy oak doors of the St. Regis ballroom shut behind us, cutting off the rising hum of four hundred whispering socialites. The cool October air of the hotel foyer felt like pure oxygen against my burning cheeks.
""Breathe, Mary,"" Wade murmured, pulling me gently against his side as we stepped toward the revolving glass doors. His driver, a towering ex-Marine named Marcus, already had the rear door of the black Cadillac Escalade open at the curb, engine idling smoothly.
""I am breathing,"" I said, though my fingers were still vibrating with leftover adrenaline. ""I just... I've waited ten years to see the look on Alyssa’s face, but I didn't think it would feel this surreal.""
""You earned every second of it,"" Wade replied, helping me inside before sliding into the leather seat beside me. He tapped the partition window. ""To the loft, Marcus. Cancel the restaurant. Let's have dinner sent up.""
As the vehicle merged onto the expressway, my phone began to buzz incessantly in my beaded evening clutch. The screen lit up over and over: Dad (14 Missed Calls), Mom (8 Missed Calls), Alyssa (22 Missed Calls), followed by an avalanche of text messages from board members, college acquaintances, and cousins who hadn't spoken to me since my twenty-first birthday.
Mary, call your father right now! This is an outrage to our family name!
You ungrateful little sneak, you ruined your sister’s life tonight! Pick up!
Mary darling, it's Mom. We need to talk about the trust funds and the press release. Wade needs to issue a clarification immediately.
""Look at them scramble,"" I muttered, showing the screen to Wade.
Wade glanced down, his square jaw tightening with distaste. ""They aren't panicking because they hurt you, Mary. They're panicking because tomorrow morning at nine, the bank opens. And without my foundation's signature on the mezzanine loan, the Sterling Architectural Group is entirely insolvent.""
A cold weight settled in my stomach. ""Are they really that close to the edge?""
""Worse,"" Wade said plainly, turning to face me. ""Three weeks ago, when you authorized me to run a forensic audit on your family's firm, my accountants discovered that your father has been funneling company reserves into offshore real estate speculations. He lost nearly seven million dollars in the Bahamas crash last winter. The only thing keeping the creditors from seizing the family estate was the announcement that my firm was partnering with them.""
I leaned my head back against the leather headrest, closing my eyes. It all made sickening sense now. Alyssa hadn't just been bullying me on that stage out of casual cruelty; she had been performing. She had needed to show the donors and lenders that she was the golden child, the irresistible socialite who could reel in Wade Larkin and save the Sterling dynasty from ruin. And she had used me as the drab foil—the pathetic, unmarried, behind-the-scenes workhorse whose misery made her look even more luminous by comparison.
""They used my structural blueprints to secure the initial permits,"" I whispered, opening my eyes to look at Wade. ""Alyssa erased my signature on the title blocks and replaced it with her own digital stamp. She’s not even a licensed architect! She failed the board exams twice!""
""I know,"" Wade replied softly, taking both of my hands in his. ""Which is why tomorrow morning isn't just about a broken engagement or public gossip. It’s about fraud. Mary, you have to decide how far you want to push this. I have the legal team ready. We can destroy their standing by noon, or we can quietly buy out their debt and push them into forced retirement.""
I looked down at the sapphire ring on my finger. For years, I had believed that keeping my head down, taking the abuse, and working quietly in the shadows would eventually earn their respect. I had thought that if I designed enough award-winning buildings, my father would finally say he was proud of me. I had thought that if I let Alyssa take the stage, she might finally treat me like a sister.
None of that was true. They didn't see me as family; they saw me as free labor and a punching bag.
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""Don't buy their debt quietly, Wade,"" I said, my voice turning to steel. ""Let the audit go to the board. Let the licensing committee see the raw CAD files with my original timestamps. If they want to play dirty in public, they can face the consequences in broad daylight.""
Wade smiled—a slow, dangerous smirk that rarely appeared unless he was about to close an aggressive corporate takeover. ""That's my girl. Marcus, call our general counsel. Tell him to serve the injunctions first thing in the morning.""
