a P
r. Finch, the Carter family's butler for the last forty years.
ts your presence at the est
Carter, the patriarch, the old wolf who had built
tion. I knew this confr
, I was a rejected mate, fleeing in the night. This time,
the east wing, voices-raised voices-filtered through a heavy oak door that stood slightly ajar. It was Theodore's private
ng was sharper than
was thick with fury, the smooth baritone replaced by a guttural snarl. "Y
had that foggy, distant quality I'd come to recognize over the past six months, th
sound like a brainwashed pup. Do you know what this will
dripping with manufact
for a sniffle. "If my presence is causing so much trouble... perhaps I should leave. F
would never. But the performance was masterful. I could a
Catherine, don't you dare. Father, this is n
nd a groan. "You're both fools. You-" His voice cut
othing. But inside, I catalogued every word. Theodore was furious-not at the betrayal of his daughter-in-law, but at the financial t
place. He was a man who exuded an aura of absolute control. But today, beneath that control, I could see t
acticed baritone. He gestured to the cha
ds resting calmly in my lap. I
g you an apology on behalf of the Carter family. Gavin's behav
of theater. It was hollow, meaningless, a
aiting for the rea
nishing from his voice, "the reputation of this family and the stab
ake. It is a controlling interest in several key subsidiarie
matter. Not his son's betraya
into a faint, c
o be reasonable. To consider the bigger picture. We have prepared a generous compens
r, wrapped in a more
se?" I asked,
t be a foolish girl. You are one woman against an institution. If you refuse our offer.
I will see to it that a judge never signs those papers. You will remain a
t fear was to be stuck in a loveless marriage, unable to move on.
, and felt nothing but a cold, clear pity. The last flicker of any fa
is gaze directly, my own ey
ing the weight of absolute conviction. "I beli
a silver
one. And as for the shares," I paused, letting my wo
oor, stopping with my
ed my head slightly, giving him a final, dismissiv
ame plan in ruins. For the first time in what was likely a very long time, the patriarch of the Carter f
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