Chapter 2 - THE FAMILY I MARRIED INTO
The Sanders family had a name that sounded wealthier than it was.
Rodrigo’s grandfather built a regional construction company in the 1970s. By the time I met Rodrigo, the family still possessed old photographs, club memberships, and the confidence of people accustomed to being treated as important.
What they no longer possessed was stable money.
The original company had been divided among relatives and weakened by lawsuits, bad investments, and years of paying family members salaries they had not earned. Rodrigo operated the remaining construction division, Sanders Development Group.
He told people the company was expanding.
In reality, it was surviving from one contract to the next.
I had built Mercer Infrastructure Analytics, a software and consulting firm that helped cities and private developers assess construction costs, structural risk, and supply-chain delays. By thirty-four, I had sold a minority stake to an investment group while retaining control.
I did not introduce myself as wealthy.
Rodrigo liked that.
He said I was different from women who needed everyone to notice what they owned.
After we became engaged, I purchased the Beverly Hills property through Marlowe Residential Holdings, a company created before our marriage. My attorneys recommended the structure for privacy and asset protection.
Rodrigo knew I had found the property.
He never asked who funded it.
When I said the closing had been completed, he assumed I had arranged financing through his family contacts.
Evelyn began calling it the Sanders house before our wedding invitations were mailed.
I let her.
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At the time, I believed allowing people to preserve their pride was an act of kindness.
I did not yet understand that pride fed too generously becomes entitlement.
