Chapter 4 - FOUR HUNDRED JOBS AND ONE TERRIBLE LIE
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Emily drove to Carter Manufacturing the next morning.
Alone.
Liam did not try to stop her.
That was the only reason she allowed him to send a security car behind her.
Her father was waiting in his office when she arrived.
Thomas Carter looked ten years older than he had at the wedding.
Stacks of financial reports covered his desk.
His tie was crooked.
His hands shook.
Emily closed the door.
“Tell me everything.”
“Emily—”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
She hated that.
“You let me marry a man because you told me four hundred employees would lose everything if I didn’t.”
“That was true.”
“But it wasn’t the whole truth.”
Thomas sat down.
“No.”
“How did the company collapse?”
He rubbed his face.
“Two years ago we needed capital to modernize the Wilmington plant.”
“I remember.”
“I borrowed twenty million.”
“From the bank.”
Thomas looked at her.
Emily felt cold.
“Not from the bank.”
“Who?”
“A private investment company.”
Her mind raced.
“Which one?”
“Harbor Crest Holdings.”
She had never heard of it.
Thomas opened a drawer and removed a file.
Emily took it.
The company was registered in Delaware.
She scanned the papers.
Then she found a signature.
Grant Whitmore.
Her stomach dropped.
“No.”
“I didn’t know he was behind it at first.”
“You borrowed twenty million dollars from Liam’s brother?”
“Half brother.”
“That distinction doesn’t help.”
Thomas lowered his head.
“The interest rate was manageable initially. Then covenants triggered. Penalties. Accelerated payments. By the time I understood what was happening, Harbor Crest controlled most of our senior debt.”
Emily stared at him.
“They set you up.”
“I believe so.”
“Why?”
Thomas pointed toward a map on the wall.
Wilmington.
The property.
“They wanted the land.”
Emily remembered Liam’s explanation.
The eastern access route.
Halston.
“So Grant destroyed this company to get that property.”
“I think he expected me to default.”
“But Liam bought the debt first.”
“Yes.”
“And then demanded marriage.”
Thomas flinched.
Emily saw it.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“You agreed without asking?”
“I asked.”
“And?”
Thomas looked toward the window.
“Liam offered another option first.”
Everything inside Emily stopped.
“What option?”
“He offered to purchase the debt outright and leave Carter Manufacturing independent.”
Her voice became very quiet.
“You told me there was only one option.”
“I was ashamed.”
“Dad.”
“He wanted the Wilmington parcel placed into a protected development trust. Carter would have received thirty percent of future profits.”
“That sounds better than marrying off your daughter.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“It was.”
Emily could barely breathe.
“Then why didn’t you accept it?”
“Because Grant contacted me.”
She stared.
“He said if I signed Liam’s proposal, he would release evidence that I had falsified financial reports.”
Emily froze.
“Did you?”
Thomas began crying.
Not loudly.
That somehow made it worse.
“I moved liabilities between quarters.”
Emily stepped away from him.
“You committed fraud.”
“I was trying to keep the credit line open.”
“You lied to lenders.”
“Yes.”
“And to me.”
“Yes.”
Her mother had once told Emily that disappointment was heavier than anger.
Emily finally understood.
“What did Grant want?”
“He wanted me to reject Liam’s offer. He said Liam would become desperate because the Halston vote was approaching.”
“And then?”
Thomas swallowed.
“Liam came back with the marriage proposal.”
Emily felt physically sick.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“You must have asked.”
“I did.”
“What did he say?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“He said marriage would make the Carter agreement harder for Grant to challenge because it would align family-controlled interests.”
Emily laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“So he did marry me for the land.”
“I don’t think that was the only reason.”
“Dad.”
“He watched you, Emily.”
She went still.
“What?”
“At the first meeting. You left to speak with the plant manager because he was worried about layoffs. Liam asked me about you afterward.”
Emily remembered Liam’s words on the wedding night.
Because the first time I met you, you were the only person worried about the employees.
Thomas continued.
“He asked whether you worked for Carter. Where you lived. Whether you were engaged.”
“Stop.”
“I’m telling you because—”
“Stop trying to make this romantic.”
Thomas fell silent.
Emily looked through the glass wall at the factory floor.
Men and women worked below.
Some had known her since childhood.
Four hundred people.
Four hundred reasons she had said yes.
“Are their jobs actually safe?”
Thomas hesitated.
That was enough.
“What now?”
“The restructuring committee met yesterday.”
Emily’s blood ran cold.
“What restructuring committee?”
“Whitmore’s financial team.”
“How many layoffs?”
“Emily—”
“How many?”
Thomas whispered, “One hundred and thirty-seven.”
She stared at him.
“No.”
“Nothing is final.”
“Liam promised.”
“I know.”
“He promised no layoffs.”
“The hidden debt changed the terms.”
“I don’t care.”
She turned and walked out.
Her father followed.
“Emily!”
People on the factory floor looked up.
She kept walking.
Her phone rang before she reached the parking lot.
Liam.
She answered.
“Did you know?”
Silence.
“You need to be more specific.”
“One hundred and thirty-seven layoffs.”
Another silence.
Emily stopped beside her car.
“Liam.”
“I found out last night.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“I intended to tell you this morning.”
“You were gone before I woke up.”
“So you were going to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Were you going to stop it?”
“I’m trying.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She heard him exhale.
“The company is losing nearly two million dollars per month.”
“Those people are not numbers.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
His voice changed.
“Emily.”
“No. You don’t get to use that calm voice and make this sound reasonable. You promised me.”
“I promised based on financial statements your father falsified.”
The words hit her.
She hated him for being right.
She hated her father more for making him right.
“I want the layoffs stopped.”
“There has to be another plan.”
“Then find one.”
“I am.”
“You buy hotels before breakfast, remember?”
“That was your line.”
“Then prove me right.”
Silence.
When Liam finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
“Give me forty-eight hours.”
“For what?”
“To save the jobs.”
“All of them?”
“I’ll try.”
“No.”
“Emily—”
“You asked me to trust you enough to marry you.”
Silence.
She continued.
“Save them all.”
He said nothing for several seconds.
Then:
“All right.”
The call ended.
Emily looked through the factory windows.
She had just demanded the impossible from a man famous for doing impossible things.
She should have felt powerful.
Instead she felt terrified.
Because if Liam failed, she would know what his promises were worth.
May you like
And if he succeeded—
she might have to admit the man she was trying not to trust had fought for four hundred strangers simply because she asked him to.
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