Chapter 6 - NORTHSTAR
Most people believed my father had given me forty-five thousand dollars as my wedding safety net.
That was true.
It simply wasn’t the whole truth.
My grandmother, Eleanor Bennett, had spent forty years building a private investment company called Northstar Capital Partners.
She hated publicity.
She hated society pages.
She hated inherited arrogance more than almost anything.
When she died, she left controlling ownership to me.
I was twenty-seven.
Derek knew I worked in corporate finance.
He knew my parents were comfortable.
He knew my grandmother had left me investments.
What he didn’t know was that I controlled Northstar.
That had been intentional.
My grandmother had written one sentence beside the inheritance instructions.
“Never tell a person what your name is worth until you know what your heart is worth to them.”
I thought I had followed her advice.
Apparently, I had still learned the truth fourteen hours too late.
Maya pulled Northstar’s Wexler file.
Six months earlier, Wexler Hospitality had borrowed heavily to renovate three failing hotels.
The expansion collapsed.
Two investors withdrew.
Bookings dropped.
Suppliers began demanding faster payment.
Then Northstar bought the senior debt from another lender at a discount.
I remembered approving the acquisition.
I had reviewed numbers.
Not names.
Wexler Hospitality had been buried inside a portfolio of twelve distressed assets.
Derek had never mentioned his company was in trouble.
He told me the business was having its best year ever.
Maya pointed to the default clause.
“If the fraudulent guarantee is connected to the company, Northstar can demand immediate review.”
“Not foreclosure.”
“Not yet.”
I looked at her.
“I don’t want hundreds of employees losing their jobs because Derek is a monster.”
“Good.”
“Protect payroll.”
Maya nodded.
“Separate operations from ownership.”
“Exactly.”
I picked up my phone.
There were thirty-seven missed calls.
Derek.
Brenda.
Derek.
Brenda.
Then my new sister-in-law, Melissa.
Then a number I didn’t recognize.
A voicemail from Derek waited at the top.
I played it.
His voice was gentle now.
“Baby, this has gotten completely out of control.”
Baby.
Less than an hour earlier, I had been a freeloader.
“We were joking around.”
“My mother feels terrible.”
“The loan thing is a misunderstanding.”
“Just come home.”
Home.
I deleted the message.
Then another arrived.
This one was from Brenda.
“If you involve lawyers, you will destroy your own marriage.”
I showed Maya.
She smiled slightly.
“That marriage is already doing an impressive job destroying itself.”
Then the unknown number called again.
I answered.
A man whispered.
“Mrs. Wexler?”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Thomas Reed.”
“I’m the controller for Wexler Hospitality.”
My spine straightened.
“What do you want?”
His breathing was fast.
“I think Derek knows you found the guarantee.”
“So?”
“So he just ordered me to delete three years of company records.”
I looked at Maya.
She was already reaching for another phone.
Thomas continued.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“The company isn’t missing eleven million dollars.”
May you like
My fingers tightened.
“It’s missing twenty-six.”
