Chapter 15 - The Controlling Shareholder
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The entire foyer became completely, terrifyingly silent. The only sound was the ticking of the grandfather clock in the next room.
Michael took a shaky step backward, shaking his head in frantic denial. “No. No, that’s impossible. Hawthorne is a massive firm. Dad was just a manager. You were a housewife.”
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, forcing him to look at the woman he had so drastically underestimated.
“Your father and I founded Hawthorne Capital thirty-five years ago in a tiny, rented office,” I explained, my tone cold and clinical. “I was the chief restructuring officer. I built the infrastructure. I handled the hostile takeovers. When your father died, I retired from public view because I was drowning in grief. I appointed David to run the floor. But I never, ever surrendered control of my shares, my company, or my wealth.”
Vanessa let out a strangled, pathetic gasp. She leaned heavily against the wall, her cream suit suddenly looking absurd against the backdrop of her impending doom.
“You hold our debt,” Michael whispered, the sheer, crushing reality of his situation finally crushing the air from his lungs. “You’re the one who denied the loan extensions for the restaurant.”
“I am,” I said. “Because you were stealing from me.”
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I turned and nodded to Eleanor Price. She walked over to the dining room table, unlatched her briefcase, and began laying out thick, legally binding documents, one by one. The sharp snap of the paper hitting the wood sounded like gunshots in the quiet house.
“Let’s review exactly what is happening today,” Eleanor announced, her voice projecting with practiced legal authority to the entire room.
