Chapter 5: Arrival of the Patriarch
Eleanor Sterling hurried forward, indignation overriding her mounting unease. "Sir! I do not care who hired you, this is private property! This girl has assaulted my son and disrupted an elite family gathering. Leave immediately before I call the State Attorney General!"
Marcus slowly turned his head. His eyes, iron-gray and piercing, pinned Eleanor where she stood.
"You may call Arthur Pendelton at the Attorney General's office if you wish, Eleanor," Marcus said evenly. "Though Arthur will likely remind you that Vance Global holds the underwriting bond on his reelection campaign, as well as the commercial liens on this entire four-acre compound."
Eleanor’s face drained of every drop of color. "V-Vance? What did you say?"
Julian’s jaw dropped. He looked between the older man and Clara. "Vance? Like... Marcus Vance? The founder of Vanguard Marine?"
"The very same," Marcus said, opening the weathered leather portfolio. He drew out a single sheet of embossed legal parchment. "For nine months, Eleanor, your family firm has been secretly begging Vanguard Marine for a thirty-million-dollar equity bailout to keep Sterling Shipping from entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Julian came to Vermont last Christmas, saw my daughter volunteering at an animal sanctuary, and assumed she was an orphan of modest means. Clara chose to test your family's humanity. And you failed every single measure."
Evelyn dropped her wine glass. It shattered against the flagstones, ruby liquid splashing across her satin shoes.
May you like
"Clara..." Julian choked, stepping forward with trembling hands. "You... your father is Marcus Vance? Why didn't you tell me? I love you! You know I love you!"
"You loved my silence, Julian," Clara said, clutching the lapels of her father's coat. "You loved having someone you thought you could diminish to make yourself feel towering. When your cousin ripped my dress, you didn't see an injustice. You only saw an inconvenience."
