Chapter 6 - A Mother’s Ultimatum
The room fell into an unbearable quiet, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corridor. Eleanor reached out, taking Clara’s hand again and resting it against her cheek.
""I called my personal attorney this morning, Julian,"" Eleanor broke the silence. ""Before you arrived.""
Julian looked up from the documents, guarded. ""What did you do, Mother?""
""I amended my private testament,"" Eleanor stated calmly. ""The liquid assets in my personal trust—the accounts your father could not touch—amount to roughly twelve million dollars. I have designated Clara as the primary trustee for eight of those millions, earmarked for a foundation in Arthur’s name to restore the pensions of every Dayton worker discarded during the merger.""
Julian straightened, his executive instincts bristling on reflex. ""You can't do that. The board will contest it immediately. They’ll claim undue influence from domestic staff. They will drag her name through every tabloid in the state and paint her as a predator preying on an ailing widow.""
""Not if you co-sign the transfer, Julian,"" Eleanor said, her gray eyes locking onto his with razor-sharp intent. ""Not if the CEO of Vance Holdings presents it as a corporate restitution package.""
Clara looked startled, turning to Eleanor. ""Mrs. Vance, no. I never asked for your money. I only wanted the truth acknowledged. I don't want his board members hunting me.""
""It isn't a gift, child,"" Eleanor said, her breathing growing slightly shallow. ""It is a debt paid sixty years too late. But it requires my son to choose between his father’s cowardice and his own soul.""
May you like
Julian looked between the frail woman who had raised him on classical literature and quiet morality, and the young woman who had watched her father slowly destroyed by the company that funded his lifestyle.
""Give me the file, Julian,"" Eleanor held out her hand. ""Make your choice.""
