CHAPTER 1: The Thing About Control
CHAPTER 1: The Thing About Control
“You can’t do this to family!” Brielle screamed again.
I looked at her calmly.
“That’s the problem,” I said. “You think ‘family’ is a shield. I’ve been treating it like an obligation.”
My father stepped forward, voice lower now.
“Natalie… we can fix this. You’re emotional right now.”
I almost laughed.
Emotional.
Ten years of building a company from near bankruptcy.
Emotional.
Signing every restructuring document he never read.
Emotional.
Paying off his mistakes quietly so the family name wouldn’t collapse in the press.
I nodded slowly.
“No,” I said. “I’m not emotional. I’m finished being ignored.”
My mother tried a softer approach, stepping closer.
“Sweetheart, we were just trying to help Brielle find her footing—”
“She’s thirty-one,” I interrupted.
May you like
Silence.
Even Brielle stopped breathing for a second.
