Chapter 7 - The Masterclass in Business
Vada’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly closed her laptop lid, trying to hide the open financial ledgers on her desk, but Truett was already moving closer.
"You don't need to hide your screen from me, Miss Kinnard," Truett said, stopping a few feet away. "I didn't come here today to tour rose gardens or listen to rehearsed poetry from your sisters. I came back because my corporate intelligence team ran a preliminary background check on Meadowlark Hall yesterday morning."
Vada froze, a cold shiver running down her spine. "A background check?"
"That’s right," Truett nodded, leaning casually against the edge of a wooden bookshelf. "And what we found didn't match the pristine socialite image your mother was selling over tea. The estate is leveraged to its absolute limit. Someone has been systematically draining the operational accounts for months, and yet, the backend bookkeeping is remarkably disciplined. Every single missing dollar has been meticulously tracked, red-flagged, and accounted for in private notes."
Truett tilted his head, his gaze piercing straight through her defenses. "Those notes were written by you, weren't they?"
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For a moment, Vada considered lying, protecting whatever tattered remains of family dignity she had left. But looking into Truett’s honest, unwavering eyes, she realized the truth was her only shield.
She took a deep breath, walked back to her desk, and opened the laptop lid once more. "My mother is running this estate into the ground, Mr. Barlow," Vada said, her voice steady and fierce. "She thinks she can marry her way out of bankruptcy. But she doesn't know the first thing about business. If someone doesn't restructure these debts within thirty days, the bank is going to foreclose on every acre of this property."
