Chapter 3 - The Truth in the Folder
Andrew looked like he might collapse. “Dad, please—let me explain—”
“Explain what?” Thomas flipped open the folder and slid copies across the table—receipts, bank transfers, invoices, all marked with company letterhead. “Explain how you spent over four hundred thousand dollars in eighteen months on hotels, gifts, and trips you never put on any approved expense report? Explain how you used my company’s credit cards to fund your affair?”
Brooke grabbed one of the papers, scanned the numbers, and her face went pale. “You told me these were your bonuses! That your father gave you full access!”
Andrew wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I… I meant to pay it back—”
“Pay it back with what?” Thomas asked coldly. “You haven’t generated a single new client in two years. You’ve missed deadlines, ignored reports, and let key accounts slip because you were too busy traveling with her. If I ran this company the way you’ve been running your life, we’d have been bankrupt long ago.”
Diane spoke up then, quiet but firm. “Andrew, we warned you. We told you to treat Claire right. She’s been good to us, good to this family, and you’ve thrown it all away.”
Thomas turned to me then, his expression softening. “And Claire… there’s more. I didn’t just collect these papers to expose him. I’ve been watching. For a long time.”
He pulled out another set of documents—separate from the expense reports. “I saw you giving up your museum career. I saw you canceling your art classes to stay home when Andrew said he needed you. I saw you hiding your sketchbook so you wouldn’t ‘distract’ him. You didn’t stop being talented, Claire. You stopped being given permission to shine.”
He slid a thick envelope toward me across the polished wood. “When you turned down that Art Institute internship eight years ago… I called them. I told them to keep your file open. Every year, I’ve sent them updates on your volunteer work—you’ve been teaching art at the community center, haven’t you? Helping kids who can’t afford lessons? They’ve been waiting for you.”
My breath caught. “You… you knew about that?”
“I know everything that matters in this family,” Thomas said. “Andrew was supposed to stand beside you. Instead he stood in your way. And tonight, everyone is going to see exactly who has been holding you back.”
Brooke made a sharp, impatient sound. “This is all very touching, but it doesn’t change the fact that Andrew loves me. He says we’re perfect together.”
Thomas looked at her—really looked at her—like he was seeing someone who didn’t belong. “Andrew is impulsive. He’s easily flattered. And he’s been hiding from his responsibilities. But tell me—when he was spending all that money on you… did he ever mention what would happen if he lost his job? If he lost his place in this company?”
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Brooke hesitated. “He said he’d be running it soon—”
“He won’t be running anything,” Thomas said flatly. “Not this company. Not any part of it. Not if I have a say.”
