You
either sign this contract right now or we will take you to court and strip you of half of everything you have.
I looked
at Harrison, studying the desperate vein throbbing in his neck. He was trying to intimidate me using the exact same
playbook my father had used my entire life. But the terrified little girl who used to hide in her bedroom was dead.
Naomi saw my expression and immediately recognized that Harrison’s aggressive tactic was failing. She placed her
perfectly manicured hand gently over my brother’s clenched fist, playing the role of the sophisticated peacemaker.
“Harrison, darling, breathe,”
she murmured smoothly, her dark eyes shifting to me
with a calculated warmth.
Olivia, you have to forgive him. He is
just passionate about the family legacy. But let us look at this logically as women of the world.
She leaned across
the table, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial whisper.
You just came into a massive amount of money
overnight. That is wonderful, truly. But in circles like the ones my family operates in, wealth is only half the
equation. Reputation is everything. You are a newly minted tech founder. The
last thing you want right now is a messy public family lawsuit splashed across the tabloids.
My father knows every
judge and newspaper editor in this state. If the narrative becomes that you abandon the parents who sacrificed
everything for you, your new Silicon Valley investors will run for the hills.
She sat back adjusting her silk blouse with a confident smirk.
Think of this 15 million not as a
handout but as reputation insurance. You pay it and we welcome you into high
society with open arms. We protect you.
I took a slow deliberate sip of my Earl
Grey tea, letting the silence stretch between us. The sheer manipulation was
breathtaking. They were literally trying to extort me over breakfast. I set my
cup down on the saucer with a soft clink.
“Just then, our waitress approached the table, holding a small
black leather book.”
“Will that be all for this morning?”
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