Chapter 4 - The Architecture of Silence
My father sat down heavily,
the charcoal suit finally looking like the costume it was.
“Kimberly,
the lien,”
he said,
his voice trembling.
“How did you find out?”
“I hired someone to look into Grant the moment he asked for my company papers,”
I said.
“I knew he wasn't doing it for me.”
“I just didn't know he was doing it to you, too.”
Grant was pacing at the edge of the dance floor.
“It’s a business move, Richard.”
“We were going to use the Cedar Ridge revenue to pay off the lien.”
“It was a closed loop.”
I looked at him.
“It was a crime, Grant.”
“Using collateral you didn't own to secure personal debt?”
“The bank in Cincinnati is going to be very interested in the signatures on those documents.”
Grant stopped pacing.
“You wouldn't.”
“I already have.”
Vanessa stood up and walked toward me.
“Kim, please.”
“Think about me.”
“If Grant goes down,
I lose everything.”
“The house,
the cars,
the girls' school.”
“You’ve always been the one who fixed things.”
“Fix this.”
I looked at my sister.
I looked at the dusty-blue dress that pinched my arms.
“No, Vanessa.”
“I’m not fixing it.”
“I’m not the strong one anymore.”
“I’m just the one who’s done.”
I turned to my mother.
“You knew about the plan to buy Nathan,
didn't you?”
Mom didn't look up.
She was shredding a paper napkin into tiny white pieces.
“He seemed like such a nice boy,”
she whispered.
“We just wanted you to have someone.”
“You wanted me to have a handler,”
I corrected.
“Someone who would make sure the money kept flowing into Allen Family Holdings.”
I stood up and grabbed my purse.
I looked at the leather folder.
“I’m leaving.”
“I’ve already moved my personal things out of the house.”
“And I’ve changed the locks on the Cedar Ridge office.”
“If any of you come within a hundred yards of my staff,”
“you’ll be arrested.”
My father looked up at me.
“Where are you going to go,
Kimberly?”
“You’re all alone now.”
It was his last weapon.
The fear of solitude.
The idea that without them,
I was nothing but a nurse in a dusty-blue dress.
“I’d rather be alone than be an asset,”
I said.
I walked toward the door.
Nathan was standing by the coat check.
He looked like he wanted to say something,
but he didn't know if he had the right.
I stopped in front of him.
“The debt Grant holds on your father’s company,”
I said.
Nathan nodded.
“He’ll call it in tomorrow.”
“My dad will lose everything.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out a business card for a lawyer I knew.
“He’s an expert in predatory lending,”
I said.
“Call him.”
“And Nathan?”
He looked at me,
hope and shame warred in his eyes.
“I’m paying off the note tomorrow morning,”
I said.
“But not for you.”
“For your father.”
“Because he actually fixes things.”
Nathan’s mouth opened,
but no words came out.
“Don’t call me,”
I said.
“Don’t come to my house.”
“I need to find out who I am when nobody is holding a pen over my life.”
I walked out of the Bellweather Country Club.
The night air was cold and clean.
I took a deep breath,
May you like
feeling the dusty-blue dress tear slightly at the seam.
It was the best sound I had heard all night.
