Sometimes the hurt is too big.
They simply stop believing.
I bent down, picked up the necklace, brushed the glitter from it, and slipped it gently into my handbag.
“It’s all right,” I whispered to Sophia.
“We can go home.”
Dominic finally found his voice.
“Vivienne, wait.”
“For what?”
“So we can talk.”
“We’re talking now.”
His eyes darted toward the executives gathering nearby.
“Not here.”
“Because your wife is watching?”
The woman beside him stiffened.
“Dominic… wife?”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Before he could invent another lie, every phone in the lobby chimed almost simultaneously.
Executives looked down at their screens.
One after another, expressions changed.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Chloe pulled out her phone.
Her smile disappeared instantly.
“What…?”
Dominic grabbed his own device.
An emergency corporate notification filled the screen.
NOTICE OF IMMEDIATE BOARD ACTION
All Sterling Capital financing has been suspended effective immediately.
All revolving credit facilities are frozen.
Pending acquisitions are canceled.
Emergency board meeting in fifteen minutes. Executive attendance mandatory.
Dominic stared at the message.
“This can’t be happening.”
Another notification appeared.
Then another.
Their primary bank had suspended the company’s operating credit.
Their acquisition loan had been recalled.
Three institutional investors had withdrawn.
The company’s stock began falling in after-hours trading.
One executive whispered,
“My God…”
Another looked toward Dominic.
“You said Sterling Capital guaranteed our expansion.”
Dominic looked completely lost.
