David: Shh, sweetie, it's okay. Daddy's got you.
Lily: Daddy, my face hurts so bad...
David: I know, baby girl. I know. We're going home right now.
I placed Lily gently into her car seat in the back of my old truck, making sure the straps were snug before closing the door. My phone started vibrating violently in my hoodie pocket. I pulled it out and saw my wife's name, Chloe, flashing across the screen.
David: Chloe, where are you?
Chloe: David, what did you just do?! My mother is crying upstairs!
David: Your mother slapped our three-year-old daughter across the face, Chloe!
Chloe: She said Lily was misbehaving and you completely blew up! You smashed their whole dining set!
David: Are you seriously defending her right now?
Chloe: I'm saying you overreacted! My dad is talking about calling the police on you for property damage!
David: Tell him to call them. Please. Let the police come look at the red handprint on Lily's cheek.
There was a long pause on the line. I could hear the loud noise of the party continuing in the background of her phone.
Chloe: David, don't be like this. My family is hosting the regional bank executives tonight. My dad's trust fund loan depends on this dinner.
David: You care more about your dad's loan than your own daughter's safety?
Chloe: You know how important this business merger is for our future! Just come back inside and apologize to my mother so we can fix this.
David: Apologize to her? Are you out of your mind?
Chloe: David, if you leave right now, don't expect me to come home tonight.
David: Fine. Stay there with them. But remember whose side you chose when everything comes crashing down.
I hung up the phone before she could say another word and tossed it onto the passenger seat. I started the engine, watching the massive estate disappear in my rearview mirror as I drove down the winding mountain road. For five years, I had kept my real background hidden from Chloe and her arrogant parents, pretending to be just a simple mechanic working at a local garage. They thought I came from nothing, so they treated me like garbage.
They didn't know that my real name was attached to the largest commercial real estate firm in the state. They didn't know that the very bank loan Richard was begging for tonight was being funded through my family's private investment firm.
I pulled over to the side of the quiet road and dialed a private number I hadn't called in years.
Marcus: Boss? Is that really you?
David: Marcus. I need you to pull up the loan application for Sterling Holdings.
Marcus: Richard Sterling's company? We're scheduled to approve their twelve-million-dollar credit line tomorrow morning.
David: Deny it. Freeze all their pending assets and call for an immediate audit of their collateral.
Marcus: Sir... that will bankrupt them within forty-eight hours.
David: Good. Make sure Richard Sterling gets the rejection letter in person by eight in the morning.