Chapter 13 - How Rich Are You?
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Color drained from Daniel’s face until he looked like a ghost standing in the center of the grand lobby.
"No..." he whispered, shaking his head in total denial. "No... this is impossible. You're an assistant. You drive an eight-year-old car..."
"That was the life I chose to show you," I said calmly.
Evelyn stepped forward, her voice echoing in the vast space. "Mr. Mercer, Ms. Lane is the primary shareholder and chief executive officer of this firm. She controls every asset under our management."
Daniel’s knees visibly buckled. The reality of his mistake crashed down upon him with crushing weight. He looked at me, his eyes wide with a terrifying blend of shock, awe, and greed.
"How... how rich are you?" he whispered.
That was his first question. Not Why did you hide this? Not How could I have hurt you?
Simply: How rich are you?
"Rich enough that the answer shouldn't have mattered," I replied, folding my arms.
"The ninety-million-dollar deal..." he stammered, taking a desperate step forward. "That was your money? You could have saved HelixPoint!"
"I intended to," I said quietly. "Before the wedding, I instructed our tech analysts to prepare a full turnaround package for your company. I was going to reveal who I was during our honeymoon and give HelixPoint the capital it needed."
Tears spilled over Daniel’s eyelashes. "Rebecca... please. I made one mistake! I was drunk! My mother was nagging me—"
"You struck me, Daniel," I interrupted, my tone icy cold.
"I’m sorry!" he cried out, raising his hands in supplication. "I swear I'm sorry!"
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I looked at him with profound pity. "Would you be standing in this lobby apologizing if I were still the broke assistant you thought I was?"
Daniel opened his mouth to lie, but no sound came out. His silence was the only honest response he had ever given me.
