Chapter 14 - SAMUEL’S BETRAYAL
Samuel did not deny it.
That made his betrayal worse.
We met in my father’s old office.
He stood beside the window.
“I built Asterion after I disappeared.”
“With what money?”
“Funds Andrew placed outside Hart.”
“My father financed it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“As insurance.”
“Against me?”
“Against everyone.”
I stared at him.
“You are calling two point six billion dollars of callable debt an insurance policy?”
“Yes.”
“Explain before I have you removed.”
Samuel turned.
“Your father did not trust Victor.”
“I know.”
“He did not trust Marianne.”
“I know.”
“He also did not trust the Hart board.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because he believed the company had become too dependent on the family name.”
“And?”
“He created Asterion to hold enough Hart debt that, in a crisis, an independent party could force restructuring.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You’re forcing it now.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this is the crisis.”
Anger rose.
“You could collapse the company.”
“No.”
“You just demanded two point six billion dollars.”
“Because you can pay it.”
“Not without selling strategic assets.”
“Exactly.”
I stared.
Then understood.
He wanted me to reduce the empire.
My father’s empire.
“You want me to break Hart Global apart.”
“I want you to make it survivable.”
“It is survivable.”
“Until the next Richard.”
That landed.
Samuel stepped closer.
“Andrew feared something you inherited from him.”
“What?”
“The belief that ownership equals safety.”
I almost laughed.
“I have three children targeted because of ownership.”
“Exactly.”
He placed a folder on the desk.
Inside was a letter from my father.
Another one.
Evelyn will try to save everything. Do not let her.
I hated him for knowing me.
Even dead.
The letter continued.
If the Sterling matter ever threatens the family again, force her to choose between the empire and freedom from it.
I sat down.
Samuel said nothing.
“What does Asterion want?”
“Sell four divisions.”
“Which?”
He named them.
All profitable.
All unrelated to Hart’s core operations.
The sale would raise more than enough capital.
Reduce debt.
End cross-collateralization.
Cut our size by almost thirty percent.
Wall Street would hate it initially.
My board would revolt.
Hart Global would become smaller.
Cleaner.
Harder to attack.
“Did my father choose these?”
“Years ago.”
I looked at the page.
He had marked them in pencil.
Dad’s pencil.
One note beside a hotel division read:
Evelyn likes this one. Sell it anyway.
I laughed despite myself.
Then cried.
Samuel sat across from me.
“I loved your father.”
“Then why let me believe you were dead?”
“Because Victor watched everyone close to you.”
“You could have told me.”
“And endangered you.”
“You don’t get to make that decision for me.”
“No.”
His face broke.
“I know.”
There were too many men in my life discovering consent after violating it.
I signed the restructuring term sheet at 11:48 p.m.
The next morning, Hart announced four strategic divestitures.
Markets reacted violently.
Then stabilized.
Asterion withdrew its demand.
Other lenders granted waivers.
The forty-eight-hour crisis ended.
Hart Global survived.
Smaller.
Stronger.
Mine.
For approximately three hours, I believed we had turned the corner.
Then Rachel disappeared.
Her room was empty.
No forced entry.
No struggle.
A note sat on the bed.
I’m sorry. I can’t let Lucy lose another mother.
Lucy was still with me.
Rachel had left alone.
Security footage showed her entering a taxi at 2:16 a.m.
May you like
Destination:
The detention facility holding Marianne.
