“I am not doing anything to you, Carolina. I am simply stopping the protection that I have been providing you from the consequences of your own reckless choices.”
I pulled my phone out again, dialing the number in front of everyone.
Tyler scrambled toward me, his hands outstretched.
“Lauren, wait, just stop for a second.”
I raised a single hand and he froze, unable to move forward or backward.
“George,” I said, waiting for him to pick up. “Prepare the notice of default and the intent to seize the collateral, but do not hit send until I give you the final word.”
Carolina looked like she might faint, and Tyler finally closed his eyes, accepting the reality of his own making.
I realized then that the most painful part of the night was still to come, a moment of reckoning that would change the trajectory of our relationship forever.
Chapter 3: The Price of Pride
“What do you actually want from me?” Tyler asked, his voice cracking with the strain of his panic.
That was the defining problem with their entire worldview.
He didn’t ask what was fair, he didn’t ask how he could make the damage right, and he didn’t express an ounce of humility.
He simply asked for the price, acting as if every human interaction and years of calculated cruelty could be smoothed over with a wire transfer or a quick deal.
I stared at him, letting the silence stretch until he looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“I want a sincere apology,” I said.
Carolina let out a sharp, incredulous laugh that sounded more like a bark of indignation.
“You are going to ruin us over a few jokes?”