Chapter 6 - The Charity Gala
Two weeks after the takeover, Bennett Development Group’s stock price had stabilized, rebounding by thirty-four percent following the announcement of a massive joint urban redevelopment project backed by Mercer Holdings.
The press hailed me as the "Prodigal Daughter of Real Estate," splashing my face across the covers of Crain’s New York and Forbes.
On a crisp Friday evening in early December, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted the annual Winter Solstice Philanthropy Gala—the most exclusive event on the New York social calendar.
I walked down the grand marble staircase of the museum wearing a breathtaking midnight-blue velvet gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline, paired with a forty-carat sapphire necklace on loan from the Mercer private vault.
Beside me walked Julian, impeccably handsome in a bespoke black velvet tuxedo, his hand firmly resting at the small of my back as photographers flashed their cameras in a blinding white storm.
"You are radiating power tonight, Mrs. Mercer-to-be," Julian whispered in my ear, his breath warm against my skin.
"I’m just enjoying the view," I smiled, looking across the vast, flower-draped hall filled with billionaires, politicians, and socialites.
Suddenly, the crowd near the champagne tower parted, and a whisper swept through the room.
Stepping into the ballroom was my mother, Margaret Bennett, flanked by my sister Natalie.
They looked completely out of place. My mother’s gown was two seasons old—a subtle sign of the financial freeze that had gripped their estate since my father’s dismissal—and Natalie was missing her signature diamond tennis bracelet, which had indeed been hocked to cover her husband’s legal defense fees after Julian revoked his firm's retainer.
When my mother spotted me standing beside Julian under the grand archway, her eyes flashed with a mixture of desperate hope and venomous pride.
She immediately shoved her way past two hedge fund executives, dragging Natalie behind her, marching straight toward us.
"Claire!" my mother called out, her voice overly sweet, loud enough for nearby reporters to hear. "Darling! There you are! We’ve been looking for you all evening!"
Julian’s security team instinctively moved to block them, but I raised a gentle hand, stopping the guards.
"Let them come, Vance," I said calmly.
My mother stopped three feet from us, her fake smile straining the skin around her eyes. She reached out, trying to grab my hands, but I casually raised my champagne glass, forcing her hands to drop uselessly back to her sides.
"Claire, sweetheart," my mother purred, her eyes darting nervously toward Julian before settling on my sapphire necklace. "We need to talk privately. Your father is at home, sick with worry. The bank sent an eviction notice for the Greenwich estate yesterday! You have to tell Julian’s lawyers to stop the foreclosure!"
Natalie stepped forward, her face twisted in bitter jealousy as she stared at my gown. "Yeah, Claire! Is this how you treat your own mother?! You’re throwing galas and wearing millions in jewels while your sister can't even pay her children's private school tuition this semester?!"
I took a slow, delicate sip of my champagne, looking at my sister and mother as if they were distant acquaintances who had overstayed their welcome.
"My tuition was canceled when I was nineteen, Natalie," I said, my voice smooth as silk. "I seem to remember you telling me at dinner that year that 'everyone has to make sacrifices for the family.'"
My mother’s face turned pale. "Claire, that was different! Ryan was the future—"
"Ryan is currently under federal investigation for grand larceny, Mother," I interrupted flatly. "And as for the Greenwich house... I know about the eviction notice."
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My mother blinked, a flicker of frantic hope lighting up her eyes. "You do? Oh, thank God! So you bought the mortgage back?"
"I did buy the mortgage back," I smiled—a cold, brilliant smile that caused my mother’s breath to freeze in her chest. "I bought it through a subsidiary LLC yesterday afternoon. The foreclosure is proceeding on schedule. The auction is set for January 15th."
