Chapter 1 - The Broken Ring
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“They’re counting on my involvement in Riverstone,” I said into the phone, my voice steady despite the adrenaline spiking in my chest. “I need you to find out exactly what they’ve promised.”
Ethan stopped walking.
He stood halfway down the sweeping stone steps of his parents’ mansion, the porch light casting long, arrogant shadows across his tailored suit. He looked at me as if I were a child having a tantrum, completely oblivious to the fact that I had just detonated our entire future.
“Claire, put the phone away,” Ethan commanded. His tone wasn't pleading; it was irritated. “You’re embarrassing yourself. My parents are inside watching through the window.”
“Let them watch,” I replied, not breaking eye contact as I listened to my attorney, Susan, pulling up files on the other end of the line.
“Claire, what is going on?” Susan asked, her sharp legal mind already sensing the blood in the water.
“The wedding is off,” I told her, my eyes locked on Ethan. “And the Parker family’s access to the Riverstone capital is officially revoked. Freeze the term sheets.”
Ethan let out a harsh, incredulous laugh. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked the rest of the way down the steps.
“You can’t freeze anything,” Ethan sneered, stopping a few feet away. “You’re a consultant, Claire. My father and I have been negotiating the Riverstone acquisition for six months. You think a pretty little project manager can stop a fifty-million-dollar deal because her feelings got hurt over a dinner conversation?”
I lowered the phone from my ear, leaving Susan on speaker.
“I didn’t just consult on Riverstone, Ethan,” I said, the freezing Chicago wind whipping my coat around my legs. “I didn't tell you the whole truth because I wanted to see if you loved me, or if you loved my connections. But it turns out, your family is too arrogant to even realize who you’re doing business with.”
Ethan’s smug smile faltered. “What are you talking about?”
“Susan,” I said loudly into the phone. “Who holds the majority voting rights for Riverstone Holdings?”
The speaker crackled in the cold air. “You do, Claire. You own sixty-two percent of the holding company. You are Riverstone.”
Ethan’s face went completely, horrifyingly pale. The breath caught in his throat, turning into a visible cloud of white mist in the freezing air.
“You... you own it?” he stammered, taking a step back.
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“I did,” I said, opening the car door for my mother. “But as of tonight, the Parker family doesn't get a single dime. Tell Daniel and Margaret I said thank you for dinner.”
I got into the driver’s seat, leaving Ethan standing frozen on the driveway, and drove away into the night.
