Chapter 5 - The Cartwright Retaliation
"I have nothing to say to you, Charles," I answered cold into the receiver. "The engagement is canceled. My team sent an official notice to your office two hours ago."
"Notice?" Charles laughed, a dry, grating sound. "You don't cancel a merger with the Cartwright family via an email, Julian. Your mother is currently sitting in my office. She tells me you’ve succumbed to some bizarre blackmail scheme involving a former mistress."
"My private life is none of your concern," I said.
"It becomes my concern when your stock drops five percent in morning trading because rumors are spreading that you’ve had a mental breakdown," Charles replied sternly. "Listen to me carefully, boy. Brielle is humiliated. My board is furious. If you don't show up at the Metropolitan Club at six o'clock tonight to publicly announce your reconciliation with Brielle, I will short Whitaker Enterprises stock into the dirt. I will pull our multi-billion-dollar credit line from your European division by midnight."
It was an execution threat. The Cartwright family held enough debt notes on Whitaker Enterprises' recent acquisitions to cause a massive liquidity crisis if they pulled out abruptly.
"Is that a threat, Charles?"
"It’s a business reality," Charles snapped. "You marry my daughter, or you watch your grandfather's company go under before the end of the week. Bring your mother's legal team, sign the agreements, and we sweep this little distraction under the rug."
The line went dead.
I set the phone on the counter, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth hurt.
"What did he say?" Mara asked, watching my expression closely.
"He’s trying to force the marriage using the company’s debt," I explained grimly. "My mother gave him internal financial access during the engagement negotiations. He knows exactly where our vulnerabilities are."
"Julian... if you lose your company because of us—"
"I don't care about the company if it means living a lie!" I shouted, though I instantly softened my tone as I saw her startle. "I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry that my mother sold my life to a vulture like Charles Cartwright."
I walked over to my desk, pulling out a hidden secure drive.
"What is that?" Mara asked.
"Six years ago, after my accident, I didn't just sit around," I revealed, plugging the drive into my computer. "I knew my mother was hiding things from me. I hired an independent intelligence firm to audit every financial transaction made by the Whitaker Foundation and the Cartwright Group over the last decade."
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A series of complex spreadsheets appeared on the screen.
"Charles Cartwright thinks he holds all the cards," I smiled coldly, a sharp, dangerous edge entering my voice. "He doesn't know I’ve been holding proof of his offshore tax fraud for three years. I kept it as leverage in case he tried to screw us on the European deal. Now... I’m going to use it to burn his empire to the ground."
