Chapter 15 - Evelyn's Signature.
Nathan did not call his mother immediately.
That frightened Lauren more than if he had shouted into the phone.
He sat in David's conference room with Evelyn's affidavit in front of him and read every line.
Evelyn did not state that she believed Nathan had an affair with Ashley.
She was too careful for that.
Instead, she claimed that Nathan and Ashley had a "longstanding intimate personal history" known to both families.
She cited Charleston.
She cited photographs.
She cited Ashley's pregnancy claim.
She said uncertainty existed.
That word appeared nine times.
Uncertainty.
Enough uncertainty to delay the trust.
Enough uncertainty to preserve Evelyn's voting control.
Enough uncertainty to protect Richard's leverage.
Nathan placed the paper flat on the table.
"She knows it's false."
Lauren sat across from him.
"She knows you never had a relationship with Ashley."
"Yes."
"Then why sign?"
Nathan looked at the ceiling.
"Fear."
Cameron frowned.
"Of Richard?"
"Of losing the company."
Nathan stood.
"My mother spent fourteen years telling herself everything she did was for the employees."
David leaned back.
"That does not excuse a false implication under oath."
"I know."
Nathan picked up his phone.
"Now I call her."
Evelyn answered on the first ring.
"Nathan."
"Withdraw the affidavit."
Silence.
"We need to talk."
"No."
"Please."
Lauren looked at Nathan.
Evelyn rarely said please.
Nathan remained cold.
"Did Richard show you the real paternity exclusion report before you signed?"
Another silence.
That was answer enough.
"You knew."
Evelyn's voice cracked slightly.
"I knew there were conflicting documents."
"There were not conflicting documents."
Nathan raised his voice for the first time.
"There was one real test that excluded me and one fake report Ashley waved in our faces."
"Nathan, Richard can pull the credit guarantee tomorrow."
"So this is about money."
"It is about eight thousand employees."
"Don't hide behind them."
"I am not hiding."
"You watched Ashley kick Lauren."
Evelyn said nothing.
"You ordered the video deleted."
Silence.
"You gave Ashley access to trust documents."
"I was trying to make her understand why timing mattered."
Lauren closed her eyes.
There it was.
An admission buried inside a defense.
Nathan spoke more quietly.
"You helped build this."
Evelyn's breath shook through the speaker.
"I never told her to hurt Lauren."
"You didn't stop her."
"I thought it was a stupid confrontation."
"You saw the kick."
"Yes."
The word landed heavily.
Nathan looked at Lauren.
Evelyn continued.
"I should have intervened."
"Yes."
"I was wrong."
"Yes."
"But if Richard cancels the guarantee, payroll becomes a problem within weeks."
Nathan looked at David.
David was already shaking his head.
"Tell her," Nathan said.
David leaned toward the phone.
"Mrs. Mitchell, the guarantee is leverage, but it is not necessarily fatal."
Evelyn paused.
"Who is this?"
"David Sloan."
"Nathan's attorney."
"Correct."
"Then you don't understand the operating company."
A new voice came from the conference room door.
"I do."
Everyone turned.
A woman in her fifties stepped inside carrying a black portfolio.
Nathan recognized her immediately.
"Claire."
Claire Donovan was Mitchell Aerospace's chief financial officer.
Lauren had met her twice at company events.
She was known for speaking only when she had something useful to say.
Claire placed the portfolio on the table.
"I understand the company very well."
Nathan stared at her.
"How did you know we were here?"
"David called me."
David gave Nathan an unapologetic look.
Claire opened the portfolio.
"Grant's guarantee supports a four-hundred-million-dollar revolving facility."
Cameron almost choked.
Claire continued.
"But current usage is eighty-six million."
Nathan frowned.
"My mother said we would miss payroll."
"Not immediately."
Claire looked toward the speakerphone.
"And not if we replace the facility."
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
"With what?"
Claire removed three letters.
"Two banks and one private credit fund have offered conditional term sheets."
Nathan stared at her.
"Since when?"
"Since this morning."
"How?"
Claire looked at him calmly.
"Because not everyone thinks losing Grant influence is a crisis."
Lauren almost smiled.
Claire continued.
"Some lenders think it's an improvement."
Evelyn went silent.
Nathan picked up one of the term sheets.
The pricing was worse than the Grant-supported facility.
The covenants were tighter.
But the company would survive.
Richard's threat was not an execution order.
It was pressure.
Claire looked at the phone.
"Mrs. Mitchell, if you support a false paternity claim to preserve a guarantee we can replace, you are risking the company to protect your own control."
Evelyn inhaled sharply.
No one spoke to her like that.
Claire had just done it in one sentence.
Nathan sat down slowly.
"Withdraw the affidavit."
Evelyn whispered.
"Richard will retaliate."
"Let him."
"You don't know what he has."
Nathan's expression sharpened.
"What does he have?"
Silence.
"Mom."
Evelyn's voice dropped.
"Your father's amendment isn't the only document that was hidden."
David leaned forward.
"What document?"
"A side letter."
"Between whom?"
"Thomas and Richard."
Nathan's face hardened.
"About what?"
Evelyn answered.
"A transfer option."
Claire frowned.
"Transfer of what?"
Evelyn paused.
"The company."
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