Chapter 4 - The Ultimatum
The sun set over the Rockies, casting long, dark shadows across the snow. The silence of the lodge was broken by the sound of tires crunching on the gravel near the service entrance.
My security chief, a former Navy SEAL named Brody, radioed in. "Ma'am, we have a trespasser trying to scale the service gate. It's your son."
"Bring him to the office," I commanded. "Don't hurt him. Just bring him in."
Ten minutes later, Julian stood in my office. He was shivering, his designer suit smeared with dirt and snow. He looked like a lost little boy, the arrogant groom from the morning entirely gone.
"Mom," he whispered, his eyes welling with tears. "Please. I have nothing. My cards are declined. Chloe won't even look at me. Her dad is screaming at his lawyers."
"Sit down, Julian," I said, pointing to the chair Marcus had vacated.
He collapsed into it, burying his face in his hands. "I messed up. I know I messed up. She got in my head, Mom. She told me that if we wanted to be taken seriously in her world, we had to distance ourselves from... from your side of the family. From the grit."
"The grit built the roof over your head," I said quietly. "The grit paid for your Ivy League education. The grit bought the $8.4 million estate you tried to steal from me."
"I wasn't trying to steal it!"
"Weren't you?" I slid a thick file across the desk. "Marcus did some digging this afternoon. Open it."
Julian hesitated, then opened the file. His eyes scanned the financial reports, the defaulted loans, the aggressive leveraging of Richard’s tech company.
"What is this?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Your flawless, high-class future in-laws," I explained. "Richard's firm is bankrupt. They targeted you, Julian. They pushed for this wedding to be rushed. They pushed for the deed to the estate. They were going to use Highridge as collateral to save their sinking ship. You weren't a husband to Chloe. You were a bailout."
May you like
Julian stared at the papers, the color draining from his face. "No... no, she loves me."
"Call her," I challenged him. "Tell her that I've forgiven you, but that I have permanently placed the estate and your trust fund into a blind trust that you cannot access for ten years. Tell her you're a regular, middle-class man now. See how much she loves you."
