Chapter 3 - The Phone Calls That Shook the Dinner Table
The screen of my iPhone lit up. The first call was from Julian Drake, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Apex Global Media.
I reached out, tapped the speakerphone button, and set the phone in the middle of the dining table.
"Alexandra, forgive me for interrupting your family holiday," Julian Drake’s rich, commanding baritone filled the room. Even Dad, who didn't follow the tech world, immediately recognized the voice of one of the five most powerful media titans on the planet. "Our communications department released the press package fifteen minutes early due to a leak from London. The wires have picked it up globally."
"I saw the broadcast, Julian," I said calmly. "It's fine."
"The market reaction is unprecedented," Drake continued, genuine warmth and deep respect evident in his tone. "Our stock is already up seven percent in after-hours trading. Wall Street is thrilled that you agreed to remain on the board and steer the creative architecture. The Treasury transfer for the initial cash tranche—two point one billion dollars—cleared the escrow bridge twenty minutes ago. You should have the receipt in your secure terminal."
Marcus’s eyes bugged out of his skull. Two point one billion dollars in cash.
"Thank you, Julian," I replied smoothly. "Let’s keep the formal press conference scheduled for Monday morning at the Beverly Hills Hotel."
"Understood, Alexandra. Go enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family. I imagine they are celebrating your brilliance tonight. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Julian."
I tapped the red button. The line went dead.
Before anyone at the table could process the conversation, the phone vibrated again. The caller ID flashed: Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office.
I rejected the call and swiped it away. Immediately, another notification popped up: Email from Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management — Portfolio Confirmation: $2,140,000,000.00 Available Liquidity.
Jennifer let out a strange, choked gasp. She reached for her water glass, but her hand was shaking so badly that the crystal knocked against her plate, spilling water across the white tablecloth. She didn't even bother to wipe it up.
"Alexandra..." Dad began, his voice shaking with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher—a mixture of profound shock, pride, and deep, agonizing embarrassment. "Why didn't you tell us? We're your parents! Why did you let us believe you were barely getting by?"
I looked at my father, seeing the lines on his forehead, and then shifted my gaze to Marcus, whose face had gone from red to an ashen, sickly gray.
"Because every single time I came to this house," I said, my tone crisp and unapologetic, "none of you ever asked me how I was doing. You only judged what you could see. Marcus wanted to feel superior. Jennifer wanted someone to look down on. And you and Mom were so obsessed with Marcus’s commercial real estate deals that you never bothered to ask what 'Aegis Holdings' actually stood for."
"We were trying to protect you!" Mom cried out, leaning forward. "We thought you were lonely! We thought you had no safety net!"
"No, Mom," I said firmly. "You were trying to manage what you perceived as a failure. When Marcus bought his third duplex with eighty percent leverage and a massive bank loan, you threw a party in the backyard. When I quietly produced twenty-two original series, employed four hundred people, and built a proprietary streaming engine, you asked me if I wanted to move into your guest room to save on groceries."
Marcus suddenly stood up from his chair. His chest heaved, and his fists were clenched at his sides. The arrogance that had fueled him ten minutes ago was entirely gone, shattered into a million pieces.
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"You played us," Marcus hissed, his voice tight with bitter resentment. "You sat there at this table, listening to me talk about Greg Miller, listening to me offer you a job, letting me look like an idiot!"
"You didn't need my help to look like an idiot, Marcus," I replied cold as ice. "You did that all on your own the moment you pointed your fork at my face and told me my life was a waste."
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