Chapter 4 - The Golden Trap
Two weeks later, Ethan Marlowe was drowning.
Three of Marlowe Technologies' major logistics partners had suspended their contract renewals pending the resolution of the Aegis Holdings IP dispute. The board of directors was in full panic mode.
Sitting in his executive office, Ethan looked across his desk at his legal team, led by Richard Sterling, a high-priced corporate defense attorney.
"We have to settle with her, Ethan," Sterling said bluntly, adjusting his gold cufflinks. "If Aegis revokes the Nexus-9 license, your company is worth zero by the end of the month. The market capitalization will drop from eight hundred million to pennies overnight."
Ethan rubbed his temples, his face pale and gaunt. He hadn't slept more than three hours a night since the night at the Halston. "She won't take money, Richard! We offered ten million! We offered fifteen! She rejected every offer without even reading the settlement draft!"
"Then give her what she actually wants," Sterling said softly.
Ethan looked up. "What does she want?"
"Power," Sterling replied. "She wants control. And right now, she holds all the cards. But... there is one angle we haven't exploited."
Sterling pulled a document from his leather portfolio. "Under New York state law, during divorce proceedings, any major asset creation or corporate restructuring can be tied to a joint trust if children are involved. You told me she's pregnant with triplets?"
Ethan swallowed hard. Every time he thought about those three babies, a wave of deep, uncomfortable guilt washed over him. He hadn't even asked Claire about her pregnancy since that night. Vanessa had thrown a fit every time the babies were mentioned, demanding that Ethan ignore them.
"Yes," Ethan said quietly. "Triplets."
"If you offer to step down as CEO," Sterling proposed, "and transfer fifty-one percent of Marlowe Technologies' voting stock into an irrevocable trust for the unborn triplets—with Claire acting as the sole trustee—she will hold total control of the company. In exchange, she reinstates the Nexus-9 license permanently."
Ethan gasped. "You want me to give up fifty-one percent of my company?!"
"It's either fifty-one percent of a company worth eight hundred million dollars," Sterling countered harshly, "or one hundred percent of a bankrupt shell company. Plus, as the father, if you set up the trust voluntarily, it repairs your public image. You look like a devoted father putting his children first."
Ethan leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
He thought of Vanessa, who had been nagging him constantly about money, complaining that her lawyer fees were costing forty thousand dollars, demanding that he buy her a new apartment because she was "stressed."
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He was beginning to realize the catastrophic mistake he had made. Vanessa didn't love him; she loved the lifestyle he provided. Claire had built his empire alongside him when he had forty-eight thousand dollars in debt.
"Prepare the offer," Ethan whispered, his voice broken. "Fifty-one percent to the children's trust. Claire as sole trustee."
