“How do you know that?”
“Halston controls a substantial portion of the debt being refinanced.”
The room went quiet again.
There was the real pressure point.
Kyle had not simply planned to replace his wife.
He had planned to announce his clean new personal life to several board members and lenders just before asking them to support another major financing package.
Thalia had been part of the presentation.
Young.
Polished.
Pregnant.
A picture of stability.
I had been the inconvenient wife he intended to remove beforehand.
I looked at him.
“You were going to bring her to the retreat.”
Kyle said nothing.
Thalia answered instead.
“He said the board already liked me.”
Kyle snapped around.
“Stop talking.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Why? Your billionaire act is finished, apparently.”
That was when Kyle finally lost control.
Not physically.
His voice rose.
He blamed Thalia for provoking me at dinner.
He blamed his advisers for hiding the loan structure.
He blamed the banks for being disloyal.
He blamed me for keeping my family identity private.
Everyone except himself.
“You set me up,” he said.
I stared at him.
“I spent three years protecting you.”
“You lied about who you were.”
“I never lied.”
“You let me believe you had nothing.”
“You never asked.”
That silenced him.
Because it was true.
Kyle had been interested in the version of me that made him feel superior.
He had never wanted to know anything that complicated the story.
Celia’s phone rang.
She listened briefly, then looked at Kyle.
“The executive committee has been notified that the guarantor support is withdrawn pending review.”
Kyle went white.
“What does that mean?”
“It means several lenders will reassess exposure Monday morning.”
“You can’t do that because of a marriage dispute.”
Celia’s expression stayed neutral.
“This is not about a marriage dispute.
Your company’s financing depends on discretionary guarantees from entities that no longer wish to provide them.”
Kyle looked at me.
“Tell your father to reverse it.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what this could do.”
“I understand exactly what it could do.”
He lowered his voice.
