Chapter 3 - THE DOSSIER OF DESPAIRAt exactly 11:59 PM, a encrypted PDF file pinged onto Ethan’s private laptop.
He didn't waste a second. He opened it, scrolling past the standard identification data straight to the core of Clara Hale’s life. What he read made the bourbon in his glass turn sour in his stomach.
Name: Clara Hale (31)
Dependent: Lily Hale (5)
Current Status: Imminent eviction, bank account balance: $4.12.
Employment History: Former senior architectural designer at Vanguard & Sterling. Laid off fourteen months ago due to corporate restructuring. Currently working double shifts as a night-shift data entry clerk and cleaning local office buildings.
Critical Note: Vanguard & Sterling was acquired three years ago by... Walker Enterprises.
Ethan froze. The air left his lungs.
He scrolled down further, his eyes locking onto a specific medical sub-file attached to the dossier.
Medical Status: Lily Hale diagnosed with acute pediatric nephropathy six months ago. Required specialized weekly treatments not fully covered by her meager state insurance. Clara Hale has accumulated over $45,000 in medical debt. She recently sold her wedding ring, her late father’s watch, and her laptop to pay for last month’s dialysis-equivalent medication.
Ethan slowly leaned back in his leather executive chair, staring at the screen in mounting horror.
Clara Hale wasn't just a random struggling mother. She was a former employee of a subsidiary company he owned. She had lost her high-paying job because of a downsizing maneuver he had personally signed off on to maximize quarterly profits. And yet, when given the chance to take five thousand dollars from his very hands—money that could have bought her daughter months of medicine—she had given it back without a second thought.
“My God,” Ethan whispered, running a trembling hand through his dark hair.
He looked at the digital clock on his screen. 12:05 AM. Christmas Day had begun.
The cold, cynical billionaire armor he had spent decades forging was cracking, piece by agonizing piece. He realized with sickening clarity that his callous corporate game had nearly driven this woman and her sick child into total ruin.
And he had tested her like a lab rat.
May you like
Ethan slammed his laptop shut. He stood up so fast his chair rolled back and crashed against the glass wall.
“Marcus!” he shouted into his intercom. “Get the car downstairs. Now.”
