The funding announcement turned into a public humiliation.
The press had come to cover a big raise. Instead they filmed Evermont walking on the spot, and Martin hauling Vanessa out the door, his face black with anger.
Before she left, Vanessa looked back at Ethan once.
I knew that look. It was the look you give something you just bought when the finish starts peeling and it hits you that you paid for a knockoff.
Ethan tried to go after her, but Evermont's people blocked him. So he turned back to me.
"Nat, we need to talk."
"Don't call me that. It makes me sick."
"I really didn't know you were part of the Parker family."
"That's not the point."
"That is the point!" His voice suddenly rose. "Why did you hide it from me? You had access to all those resources. Why didn't you help me?"
