Chapter 15 - George’s version of the packet
George denied trying to cheat me.
That word never appeared in our attorneys’ letters.
Good.
Specific facts were stronger.
His position:
Mitchell Development planned a legitimate investment.
Minority interests complicated the structure.
A fixed redemption note would simplify capitalization.
My twelve-percent interest had been valued according to an internal formula based on prior-year earnings.
Denise’s independent valuation was higher because it included growth forecasts.
Different methods.
Not necessarily fraud.
Why had Ethan not seen the same document?
Negotiation sequence.
Why say all principal members had reviewed substantially similar terms?
George argued that was materially accurate.
Denise disagreed.
Why send me a sticky note stating Ethan and Malik were aligned?
George said:
“They were aligned with the transaction.”
Not with every term.
Technically convenient.
Why tell Vanessa to get the packet before Ethan saw me?
This was harder.
George first denied saying it.
Then heard the recording.
He said:
“I did not want a business disagreement staged publicly during my daughter’s engagement.”
Why search my bag?
“I used the wrong word in a stressful moment.”
Again, maybe.
No criminal conspiracy emerged from the paperwork.
What emerged was an aggressive negotiation conducted inside a family relationship.
George believed once Ethan and Malik embraced the investment concept, minority owners should not slow the deal over details George considered administrative.
I was a twelve-percent obstacle.
May you like
And an inconvenient mother.
That combination made it easy for him to treat me as less important than I was in either role.
