Chapter 6 - The Unspoken Truth
"What do you mean you can't clear the tab?" Theresa asked, her panic mounting into frantic anger. "You own the company!"
"I don't own the company, Mother," Mark said softly, staring out his office window at the Austin skyline.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Theresa snapped. "You set up the corporate entity! You brought her into your life! You gave her the money from your father's trust!"
"There was no money from dad's trust, Mother!" Mark finally yelled into the phone, slamming his hand onto his desk, his composure snapping under the pressure. "Dad's trust went bankrupt seven years ago! I lost every dollar of my own savings on the logistics firm! Elena built Aura! She took out a personal commercial loan using her mother's house as collateral! She signed every guarantee! She owns one hundred percent of the voting equity!"
Silence deadened the line.
Theresa sat down slowly on the plush velvet booth of the private dining room, her phone held loosely against her ear. "What... what did you just say?"
"I don't own a single share of Aura, Mother," Mark confessed, his voice breaking with pathetic weakness. "I never did. When you showed up with your friends every month, Elena was covering those bills out of her personal owner's draw because I asked her to keep you happy. She was protecting my pride!"
Theresa’s head spun. The walls of her pristine, arrogant world were caving in on her.
"Then... the money you gave me for the country club dues?" Theresa whispered, her blood running cold. "The money for my Mercedes lease?"
"It came from Elena’s business operating line," Mark choked out. "I was transferring funds from her corporate account into my personal account to cover my firm's payroll and your expenses."
Theresa stared at the silver tray resting on the table in front of her.
"Mark..." Theresa choked out, her voice trembling with absolute terror. "She knows."
"What do you mean she knows?"
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"She was standing behind my chair today when I was talking to Eleanor," Theresa whispered, her hand shaking so violently she almost dropped the phone. "I... I told Eleanor about the girl from Dallas. I told her you were using restaurant money to pay for her apartment."
On the other end of the line, Mark went completely silent.
