Chapter 2 - THE UNRAVELING"Rent an executive, Lois?" I said, my voice cutting through the humid afternoon air with crystal clarity. "Is that what you call hiring someone to validate your lies? Because last time I checked, I actually pay my own bills. I don't need to photoshop my career progression just to survive Sunday dinner."
"Shut up! Shut up, Serena!" Lois lunged forward as if she might actually physically attack me, but Uncle Gary grabbed her shoulders, holding her back.
"Lois, stop it. Just stop it," Gary muttered, staring down at his phone again where the corporate registry app was still stubbornly displaying her real title: Data Entry Associate, Tier 2. "Good grief, Lois. It’s public record. Anyone in the regional network can look this up. Why would you fake a promotion to regional operations manager? Do you have any idea what Sterling Corp does to people who commit corporate identity fraud?"
"It was just a joke!" Lois wailed, her pristine image dissolving into a puddle of mascara and hysteria. "I was going to tell them next month! I was up for the review! They practically promised it to me!"
"They interviewed three external candidates yesterday, and you weren't even on the longlist," Miles said casually, releasing my hand to slide his hands into his front pockets. "In fact, your direct supervisor flagged your department for chronic data discrepancies last Thursday. You weren't getting promoted, Lois. You were one week away from a disciplinary hearing."
Mom pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, swaying dramatically. "My heart... Arthur, my heart is acting up. Look what you’ve done, Serena. You’ve brought ruin into this house. On our anniversary weekend, with the entire neighborhood watching!"
Dad looked like he wanted to swallow a brick. He turned to Miles, his face pale and sweating profusely under the summer sun. "Mr. Sterling... sir. Please. This is a private family matter. Surely we can handle this internally. If there’s been a misunderstanding—if Lois made a youthful indiscretion—"
"Youthful indiscretion?" Miles raised an eyebrow. "She’s thirty-four years old, Arthur. And she just insulted my company, tried to extort public validation from her sister, and attempted to pass off my family's enterprise as her personal prop."
Miles pulled out his phone again, tapping the screen once.
"In fact," Miles continued, looking directly at my father, "since I happen to be the executive vice president of global infrastructure for Sterling Corp—and since my father is the majority shareholder—I think we need to talk about how your consulting firm secured those municipal contracts last quarter."
Dad froze. The blood completely vanished from his face, leaving him looking ancient and hollow. "What... what do you mean?"
"I mean," Miles said, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute, chilling corporate authority, "that auditing your daughter's fraudulent claims led my compliance team to look at your ledger. And let’s just say your family's definition of 'success' relies very heavily on creative accounting."
The silence on the patio was absolute. Even the cicadas in the surrounding oak trees seemed to have stopped buzzing.
May you like
Mom lowered her hand from her forehead. "Arthur... what is he talking about?"
Dad didn't answer. He just stared at Miles like a man watching an executioner step onto the scaffold.
