Paige’s messages were a blueprint for a heist: “His company is valued at 68 million. We need to approach this with a plan. Make a list. She’s a numbers person; she’ll respond to numbers.”
My mother’s reply chilled me to the bone: “She has more money than this entire town. She can afford to help her family.”
I didn’t feel sadness when I read those words. I felt a cold, electric clarity. They weren’t coming for me. They were coming for the zeros in my bank account.
Chapter 5: The IPO and the Arrival
The Compliance Corps IPO was a blur of charcoal suits and the electric hum of the NASDAQ floor. When the bell rang and the stock opened at $18, our net worth on paper hit $44 million.
The news reached Milfield before I even landed back in Portland. My phone was a graveyard of missed calls from the 740 area code. My father’s voicemail was the hardest to hear. “Baby girl, I saw you on the news. I’m proud of you. I’ve always been… your mother wants to talk. Please call her back.”
Always been proud? He hadn’t been proud enough to attend my wedding. He hadn’t been proud enough to keep a photo of his grandkids. He was proud of the $44 million, not the daughter.
Two days later, Diane was at my door with her suitcase and her $925,000 list.
We sat in my kitchen, a room filled with light and the remnants of my children’s breakfast. I poured her a glass of water, but I didn’t offer her a seat at the “family table.” We sat at the island, the neutral ground of business.
She read her list with the cadence of a high priestess. Retirement funds. Paige’s son’s college tuition. Mortgage payoffs. A monthly “allowance” of $3,000.
