Chapter 12 - THE SALE DIANE TRIED TO MAKE
The buyer was North Crest Partners.
Private equity.
Fast money.
Diane agreed to sell her forty percent at a steep discount.
Why?
Liquidity.
Escape.
Distance from the court.
Naomi sought an injunction.
Diane argued she had the right to sell her own shares.
Normally, yes.
But the operating agreement gave existing members first-refusal rights.
Lane Capital.
Ryan.
Diane claimed Lane’s rights were invalid because its ownership was disputed.
Circular.
Then Ryan did something Claire did not expect.
He joined Claire’s injunction request.
His mother stared at him.
“You’re siding with her?”
“I’m protecting the company.”
“You’re choosing your wife over your family.”
Ryan laughed bitterly.
“She is my family.”
Claire looked away.
Too late.
Still true.
The court froze the sale temporarily.
Then North Crest produced due-diligence emails.
Diane had told them Claire’s “mental-health dispute” would soon eliminate Lane Capital’s voting challenge.
Even after the gun hearing failed, Diane was still selling Claire’s instability as a business assumption.
That damaged her badly.
Then North Crest withdrew.
Diane lost the exit.
The accounting continued.
Mark? No, Ryan.
Ryan began cooperating more.
Not because he became noble.
Because he finally understood his mother would sacrifice him too.
He turned over one hidden folder.
Title:
CONTINGENCY — CLAIRE EXIT.
Prepared by Diane.
Options:
Voluntary redemption.
Marital authority.
Protective-order exclusion.
Incapacity management.
Divorce settlement below appraised Lane value.
Every possible route led to reducing Claire’s economic rights.
Then one note:
Suitcase likely contains original Lane ledger after Thomas call.
Claire froze.
Diane knew Claire had contacted Thomas.
How?
Claire had never told Ryan.
Naomi checked Claire’s phone logs.
No leak.
Then they checked her home office.
A small Wi-Fi printer had stored scanned copies of recently used documents.
Someone with network access could see them.
Diane had the password.
The suitcase search was planned after Diane saw the ledger had been scanned.
May you like
The bedroom confrontation was not spontaneous.
It was retrieval.
