Chapter 5 - The War of the Elites
By Monday afternoon, the storm broke across the financial world.
CARTER INVESTMENTS FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST BROOKS FAMILY TRUST FOR MEDICAL FRAUD AND FORGERY.
The headline dominated the front page of the Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and every major news network in the country.
In my corner office, the phone lines were burning. The board of directors had called three emergency sessions. Shareholders were panicking. Evelyn’s father, Senator Thomas Brooks, had called my personal line eleven times, leaving messages that ranged from political threats to desperate pleas for a settlement.
I ignored them all.
I sat behind my desk, reviewing the donor match preliminary report for Liam.
Dr. Aris Thorne sat across from me. "Mr. Carter, the blood work from Liam confirms he needs a bone marrow transplant within the next six months. The chelation therapy is keeping his iron levels stable, but it's a temporary patch."
"Have you checked the national registry?" I asked, my voice clipping with sharp authority.
"We have," Dr. Thorne said smoothly. "No direct matches yet. The best potential donors are immediate family members. Full siblings have a twenty-five percent chance. Parents have a partial match, though full matches are always preferred."
"Test me," I said immediately. "Test me today."
"I can do that," Dr. Thorne nodded. "What about the mother?"
"She's being tested at Mercy General this afternoon," I said. "What about Maya?"
"Testing a five-year-old sibling is standard protocol," Dr. Thorne replied. "We'll run her markers tomorrow."
The door to my office suddenly slammed open.
Evelyn walked in, flanked by two security guards who looked terrified to touch her. She was wearing a blood-red tailored suit, her face pale with pure, unadulterated fury.
"Out," I told the security guards. They bowed their heads and quickly pulled the doors shut behind them.
Evelyn threw a copy of the Wall Street Journal onto my desk. "You actually did it. You launched a formal lawsuit. My father’s political career is ruined, Lucas! My family name is being dragged through the mud!"
"Your family name belongs in the mud," I said without looking up from my files. "You forged my medical records to steal six years of my children's lives."
"They aren't your children!" Evelyn spat, her composure entirely shattering. "They are the bastard offspring of a woman you discarded! Do you think the board is going to stand by you through this? They are meeting right now to vote on your removal as CEO!"
"Let them," I said, standing up, resting my hands on the mahogany desk, leaning in close to her. "I own fifty-one percent of the voting shares, Evelyn. They can't remove me. But I can remove you."
I pulled a second folder from my drawer and tossed it across the desk.
"That is a petition for an annulment based on fraud," I said coldly. "Every asset you brought into this marriage will be audited by the IRS. Every bank account associated with the Brooks Trust will be frozen under federal racketeering statutes by tomorrow morning."
Evelyn stared at the document, her jaw trembling. "You're destroying yourself to destroy me."
"No," I said, looking her dead in the eye. "I'm destroying you to save my family. Now get out of my office before I have federal marshals drag you out."
May you like
She looked at me for three long seconds, realizing for the first time in her life that all her money, all her elite connections, and all her sophisticated games could not shield her from the monster she had awakened inside me.
Without a word, she turned on her heel and walked out.
