Chapter 4 - The Mother’s Plea
By Tuesday afternoon, news of the shake-up within Morrison Global Holdings had begun to leak into the upper echelons of the city’s financial district. While the internal audit was kept strictly confidential to protect market share, the sudden, absolute removal of the Morrison family from corporate rolls created a tidal wave of rumors.
I spent the morning in meetings with the board of directors, establishing new governance protocols and reallocating regional budgets to ensure that no innocent employees suffered due to Brendan’s financial mismanagement.
At 3:00 p.m., Sarah entered my private office once again.
"Mrs. Morrison—excuse me, Chairman Morrison," Sarah corrected herself quickly. "Mrs. Diane Morrison is in the building. She didn't attempt to enter through the main turnstiles. She is waiting in the ground-floor visitor lounge. She... she is begging for five minutes."
I looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the skyline. I knew why Diane was here. The bank levies executed by our legal team had taken effect at noon. The luxury vehicles leased under corporate names had been repossessed from her driveway two hours ago.
"Show her up, Sarah," I said smoothly. "And leave the door open."
When Diane Morrison walked into my office, the transformation was staggering. Gone was the regal, arrogant matriarch who sat at the head of the Sunday dinner table, sneering behind a glass of vintage wine.
She wore a simple, unpressed coat, her hair was hurriedly pinned back, and her eyes were swollen and red from hours of weeping. She carried herself with the stoop of a broken woman, clutching her leather purse to her chest like a shield.
She took three timid steps into the vast executive office, stopping short when she saw me standing near the window.
"Cassidy," Diane whimpered, her voice entirely stripped of its former venomous authority. "Cassidy... please."
I did not offer her a seat. I did not move toward her. I stood with my arms folded gently beneath my bump, watching her calmly.
"Hello, Diane," I said softly. "How is the water today?"
Diane flinched as if I had struck her across the face. She took another shaky step forward, dropping to her knees right there on the polished hardwood floor of my office.
"I’m sorry!" Diane sobbed, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks, ruining her makeup. "I am so, so sorry, Cassidy! I didn't know! I swear to God, I didn't know who you were!"
"That’s the most honest thing you’ve ever said to me, Diane," I replied, my tone devoid of anger, carrying only a cold, analytical weight. "You didn't know who I was. Which means you believed it was completely acceptable to humiliate, abuse, and freeze a pregnant woman simply because you thought she had no power to fight back."
"I was wrong!" she cried out, placing her trembling hands flat on the floor before me in an act of total humiliation. "I was arrogant! I was foolish! But please, don't take my home! The bank officers came to my house two hours ago! They said the mortgage was held by a subsidiary of Morrison Global and that foreclosure proceedings have begun! They took the car! They froze my personal checking account!"
"That account was funded entirely by embezzled money stolen from this company by your son and daughter," I stated coldly. "You bought your diamond rings with my grandfather’s legacy. You bought your Persian rugs with money meant for employee healthcare funds."
"I’ll give it back!" Diane wept, looking up at me with raw, pathetic desperation. "I’ll give back the jewelry! I’ll sign over the house! Just please... please don't send Brendan to prison! He’s my son, Cassidy! He’s the father of your baby!"
At those words, a sharp, fierce anger flared within my chest. I took two slow steps toward her, stopping right in front of her kneeling form, looking down at her.
"Do not dare use my child as a bargaining chip," I warned, my voice dropping an octave, ringing with absolute command. "Brendan gave up his right to be called a father the moment he sat at your table, watched you pour freezing water over his child's mother, and laughed. He didn't care about this baby's safety. He cared about your approval and his corporate expense account."
Diane covered her face, her body shaking with violent sobs.
"You brought this upon yourselves, Diane," I continued calmly. "For years, you built an empire of cruelty out of unearned privilege. You thought you were untouchable. But privilege without substance is just glass. And last night, you threw the first stone."
I turned my back on her and looked toward Sarah, who was standing quietly near the doorway.
"Sarah, please call security to escort Mrs. Morrison off the premises. And instruct legal to proceed with the asset recovery filing without delay."
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"No! Cassidy! Please!" Diane screamed as two security guards gently but firmly lifted her from the floor and guided her toward the doors. "Please have mercy!"
"Mercy is for those who show it," I whispered to the empty room as the heavy oak doors clicked shut behind her.
