Chapter 4 - The Price of Disrespect
Tessa was the first to find her voice,
though it was a voice filled with desperation rather than authority.
"Evelyn,
please,
we didn't know!
It was just a joke,
a little family teasing!"
"A joke?"
I asked,
leaning over the table until my face was inches from hers.
"Sliding me a glass of water while you eat a hundred-dollar meal is a joke?
Telling me to 'know my place' in the restaurant I spent twelve years building is a joke?"
I turned to my son,
who was staring at me with a mixture of horror and dawning regret.
"Colton,
you told me to know my place.
I’ve spent your entire life making sure your place was at the front of the line.
I worked three jobs so you could have the best of everything.
I sold my mother’s jewelry so you wouldn't have student loans.
And tonight,
when your wife decided to humiliate me,
you didn't just stand by;
bylines of your own cruelty joined hers."
Douglas tried to intervene,
his face reddening.
"Now,
look here,
Mrs. Mercer,
we are all family—"
"We are not family,
Douglas,"
I snapped,
cutting him off.
"Family is a bond of respect and love,
not a transactional relationship based on who can pay the bill.
And speaking of bills,
Marcus,
what is the current status of the Langford development project on 5th Street?"
Marcus pulled a small tablet from his pocket,
his eyes scanning the data.
"They are currently four months behind on their vendor payments,
Madam.
The main contractor is about to pull out because the funding has dried up."
Douglas went pale,
his bravado vanishing in an instant.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I am the main investor in the firm that provides your bridge loans,"
I said,
feeling a cold sense of justice wash over me.
"I’ve been watching your finances for a year,
waiting to see if you were the kind of people I wanted to be associated with.
Tonight gave me my answer."
I looked at the four of them,
sitting at a table in the heart of my empire,
and I realized I didn't want their apologies.
I wanted them to feel the weight of the silence I had lived with for months.
"The dinner is over,"
I said.
"Marcus,
please have security escort our guests to the door.
They are barred from Beaumont House,
effective immediately."
"But our cars!"
Tessa cried.
"The valet—"
"The valet service is also mine,"
I said,
turning away from them.
"You can walk to the edge of the property and call a cab.
May you like
It’s a beautiful night for a stroll.
Perhaps the fresh air will help you remember your place."
