“It was a mistake.”
“One mistake?”
Andrew asked.
“There are photographs from four different dates.”
Lauren reached for him.
He stepped away.
“Don't.”
The word broke something in the room.
Evelyn hated seeing her son hurt.
But she knew discovering the truth tonight was better than discovering it after marriage.
Charles pointed at Evelyn.
“You had my daughter followed?”
“No.”
“My attorney conducted due diligence on your company.”
Charles went still.
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
“Why would your attorney be conducting due diligence on Whitmore Development?”
Evelyn placed the unsigned sale agreement beside the photographs.
Charles's face changed.
He recognized it immediately.
Lauren whispered, “Daddy?”
Evelyn looked directly at Charles.
“You've been waiting for one signature.”
Silence.
“My signature.”
Andrew stared at his mother.
“What?”
Evelyn folded her hands.
“The Carter Family Trust owns the controlling interest in the company that owns the Harrington building.”
Charles looked as though someone had punched him.
Andrew slowly sat down.
“Mom… you own the building?”
“Not personally.
The trust controls it.
And I'm the sole voting trustee.”
Lauren stared at Evelyn's old coat.
Yesterday she had been ashamed to be seen with this woman.
Tonight she couldn't stop looking at her.
Charles tried to recover.
“Well, then perhaps this is actually good news.
We can discuss the transaction directly.”
“No.”
“Evelyn, don't let personal emotions interfere with business.”
“You planned to eliminate hundreds of jobs.”
“It's redevelopment.”
“You misled my son.”
“I offered him an opportunity.”
“You offered him a temporary role because you believed marrying your daughter to him would bring your family closer to me.”
Charles's face hardened.
“That's ridiculous.”
Evelyn slid the internal email across the table.
Charles read it.
His confidence vanished.
Andrew took the page.
His hands began shaking.
“Once Carter signs, Andrew can be removed from the structure.”
He looked at Lauren.
“You knew?”
Lauren cried harder.
“Andrew, please.”
“You knew?”
She couldn't answer.
That was enough.
Andrew removed his engagement ring from the small chain he wore around his neck when working with his hands.
He placed it on the table.
“We're done.”
Lauren sobbed.
Charles stood.
“This is absurd.
Evelyn, you're destroying a $112 million transaction because of some family drama.”
“No.”
Evelyn stood too.
“I'm stopping a transaction because I don't trust the buyer.”
“You'll regret this.”
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“Your employee said something similar yesterday.”
“Employee?”
“Bradley Shaw.”
Charles looked at Lauren.
Evelyn continued.
“He grabbed me, humiliated me, and tried to have security remove me from my own building.”
Lauren whispered, “I didn't know it was yours.”
