For the first time, she did not look like the woman who threw twenty dollars through a car window.
She looked old.
Frightened.
And betrayed by the same logic she once used against me.
Family means access.
Marriage means ownership.
Love means you do not need permission.
I felt no satisfaction.
Only exhaustion.
Naomi spoke again through the phone.
“PK, one more thing.”
“What?”
“Daniel Roth says the missing money did not go only into Vale Meridian.”
“Where?”
“He claims William funded a private acquisition vehicle.”
My father’s eyes closed.
“What vehicle?”
Naomi answered:
“Northstar Recovery Partners.”
I knew the name.
Everyone in corporate restructuring did.
Northstar had been quietly buying distressed Vale Meridian debt for eighteen months.
Cheap.
Aggressively.
Someone had been preparing to own the empire after it collapsed.
I looked at William.
“Who controls Northstar?”
He said nothing.
Then DeAndre’s phone—returned temporarily for attorney contact—buzzed.
He looked down.
His face changed.
“What?”
He showed me the screen.
An email from Northstar Recovery Partners.
Mr. Ross, pursuant to prior instructions from Courtney Vale, your signature is required to complete beneficial ownership certification.
DeAndre stared at his wife.
