Chapter 7 - The Ultimatums
The heavy silence in the library was broken only by the muffled sound of dance music coming from the ballroom down the hall, where two hundred guests were still waiting for the traditional bride-and-groom dance.
Charles raised his head, looking up at me with dead, defeated eyes.
"What do you want, Maya?" Charles asked softly. "You hold the press, the police, and my career in your hands. What is your price?"
"I don't want your money, Charles," I said. "I have my own career, my own morals, and my father’s respect. That is worth more than everything in this house."
I pulled out a second folder from my father's coat pocket and set it on the glass table beside the flash drive.
"These are annulment papers," I declared. "Under state law, a marriage can be dissolved immediately on grounds of fraud and misrepresentation within twenty-four hours. Daniel will sign them tonight."
Daniel choked back a sob. "Maya... no..."
"You will sign them, Daniel," I repeated, my voice leaving zero room for negotiation. "Second: Eleanor will resign immediately from the board of the Whitmore Children's Hospital Foundation, citing 'health reasons.' She will transfer four point two million dollars from her personal private accounts back into the charity's fund before 0900 hours on Monday morning."
Eleanor gasped. "That’s... that’s nearly half my personal inheritance!"
"Then you had better sell some pearls, Eleanor," I replied without a trace of sympathy. "Third: Charles, you will announce tonight at the reception that Daniel and I have decided to separate immediately due to irreconcilable personal differences, and that the Whitmore family wishes my family privacy."
Charles nodded slowly, his hands resting on his knees. "And if we agree to these terms? What happens to the silver flash drive?"
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"The flash drive stays in a secure safe-deposit box held by my attorney," I explained. "If Eleanor ever mentions my name again, if she ever contacts my father, or if anyone in this town tries to ruin my professional reputation, the files will be delivered automatically to the Federal Prosecutor's Office."
Eleanor slumped back onto the sofa, covering her face in her hands, weeping silently in total defeat.
