Chapter 3: The Call From His Father
Daniel stared at the phone screen as if the name itself had become a threat.
*Harrison Vale.*
His father.
The man who built Mercer Global from a small regional logistics company into a corporation worth billions.
The man whose approval Daniel had spent his entire life chasing.
The ballroom watched as Daniel’s confidence disappeared.
For the first time that night, he looked like the nervous young executive I had met years ago.
“Answer it,” I said.
His eyes snapped toward me.
“You planned this?””
I tilted my head.
“No, Daniel. You planned tonight.””
The phone continued vibrating in his hand.
Vanessa looked between us.
“Daniel, who is Harrison Vale?””
Nobody answered her.
That was when she realized the question itself exposed how little she knew about the man she was trying to replace me with.
Daniel finally answered.
“Dad.””
His voice was different.
Smaller.
The ballroom noise disappeared as everyone watched him listen.
I couldn’t hear Harrison’s words, but I could see their effect.
Daniel’s face changed.
His shoulders lowered.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
Then he looked at Robert.
Then at me.
“What did you tell him?”” Daniel asked.
I frowned.
“I didn’t tell him anything.””
“That’s impossible.””
I looked at Eleanor’s contact still open on my phone.
“I made one call.””
Daniel ended the conversation abruptly.
“What did he say?”” Vanessa asked.
Daniel ignored her.
Instead, he walked toward me.
“You had no right.””
A strange calm settled over me.
“No right to what?””
“To involve my father.””
I almost smiled.
“Your father owns the company. Why wouldn’t he be involved?””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Don’t pretend this is about business.””
“Isn’t that what you wanted?””
He looked confused.
“What?””
“You spent tonight telling everyone I didn’t belong in your world.””
I glanced around the ballroom.
“Now we’re discussing business.””
A few people looked away.
They had heard enough.
They had seen enough.
Daniel had wanted a public execution.
Instead, he had created a public record of his own mistake.
Robert stepped closer.
“Daniel, your father wants you in the private conference room.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Now?””
“Yes.””
The word carried weight.
Daniel knew it.
Everyone knew it.
The promotion celebration had ended.
The real meeting had begun.
Vanessa grabbed Daniel’s arm.
“I’m coming with you.””
Daniel pulled away.
“No.””
Her expression hardened.
“But—”
“Stay here.””
The way he said it made the entire room uncomfortable.
Not because he was being rude.
Because for the first time, Vanessa was no longer the person beside him.
She was someone he needed to hide.
Daniel followed Robert toward the private hallway.
Before he disappeared, he looked back at me.
There was anger in his eyes.
But underneath it was something else.
Fear.
I walked toward the nearest empty table and sat down.
My dress was still stained.
The champagne smell clung to the fabric.
A reminder.
Not of humiliation.
Of clarity.
Six years ago, I believed Daniel loved me because he saw beyond my family name.
I thought he loved Claire Mercer.
Not Harlow Capital’s heir.
Not the woman behind a trust.
Not the shareholder who could influence his future.
Just me.
But tonight proved something painful.
He only respected what he could see.
Power.
Money.
Status.
Everything else was invisible to him.
“Mrs. Mercer?””
I looked up.
One of the younger executives stood nearby.
He looked nervous.
“Yes?””
“I’m sorry about what happened.””
I gave him a small nod.
“Thank you.””
He hesitated.
“Everyone knew Daniel was ambitious. But nobody expected…”
He stopped.
I finished the sentence for him.
“Cruelty?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“I was going to say careless.””
I appreciated his honesty.
Because that was the truth.
Daniel wasn’t careless tonight.
He was certain.
Certain I had no way to fight back.
A server approached with a glass of water.
“Thank you,” I said.
I took a sip and looked toward the hallway where Daniel had disappeared.
Minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
The ballroom slowly emptied.
People left with whispers.
With questions.
With new opinions about the man they had just celebrated.
Finally, Robert returned.
His expression was serious.
“How bad is it?”” I asked.
He sat across from me.
“Your husband made several unauthorized decisions during his rise to power.””
I stayed quiet.
“Decisions that benefited him personally.””
“Such as?””
Robert opened his tablet.
“Promotions. Vendor agreements. Consulting contracts.””
He looked at me.
“And Vanessa wasn’t the only secret he kept.””
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?””
Robert hesitated.
Then he turned the tablet toward me.
There was a document on the screen.
A company expense report.
My eyes moved down the page.
Then stopped.
A payment.
A large one.
Made three months earlier.
To an account with a name I recognized.
My hands went cold.
Because it wasn’t Vanessa’s name.
It wasn’t a business partner.
It was someone much closer.
“Claire,” Robert said quietly.
“I think you need to see what else Daniel has been hiding.””
I looked at the document again.
May you like
And realized the champagne was never the worst thing he had done.
The worst thing was that he had been preparing to destroy me long before tonight.
