Chapter 2 - The Hollow Crown
Two years after the dinner that ended my life in New York, Daniel Ashford was drowning in his own choices.
I kept tabs on Ashford Industries strictly for market research, but the headlines painted a miserable picture. Daniel had married Victoria Hale in a lavish, highly publicized ceremony six months after I left. From the outside, they were the perfect elite power couple. From the inside, according to the financial whispers on Wall Street, the Ashford empire was violently bleeding out.
Charles Ashford’s archaic, stubborn business models were failing in a modern economy. The company was hemorrhaging capital, losing major contracts, and facing an impending hostile takeover. Daniel had secured his board seat and his inheritance, only to discover he had inherited a sinking ship. He was trapped in a loveless marriage with Victoria—a woman who cared more about her country club status than his happiness—and completely crushed beneath the weight of his father’s toxic expectations.
He had traded his soul for a crown made of paper.
In Seattle, my reality was entirely different. Meridian Trust had just secured a massive influx of venture capital, making me one of the most powerful young CEOs in the Pacific Northwest. I wore tailored designer suits, lived in a sprawling, secure home overlooking the Puget Sound, and woke up every morning to the sound of my two-year-old daughters laughing.
I didn't need Daniel Ashford. But fate has a funny way of balancing the scales when you least expect it.
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Ashford Industries, desperate for a lifeline, began aggressively seeking a merger with a rising West Coast firm to save their stock prices. They set their sights on Meridian Trust. They reached out to my acquisitions team, begging for a meeting with our "anonymous founder."
I didn't decline the meeting. I simply set the date.
