Chapter 4 - The Leverage
Ellison Nutrition announced a nationwide recall on a Tuesday morning.
The stock plummeted twenty percent before the market even opened. News anchors stood outside their glass headquarters, broadcasting footage of frightened parents emptying pantry shelves.
Three major national chains suspended their contracts with Ellison immediately.
The bank threatened to freeze the company’s massive credit line. Nearly eight hundred workers faced shutdown unless Ellison found a safe, FDA-approved replacement supply within forty-eight hours to keep their shelf space from being permanently given to competitors.
Northstar was the only company with the manufacturing capacity, the clean safety record, and the exact nutritional profile ready to provide it.
It took them exactly twelve hours to trace Northstar's ownership back to me.
Estelle called me herself.
When my phone rang and I saw the private number, a cold satisfaction settled in my chest. Five years of waiting culminated in this single ringtone.
"Mara," her voice was perfectly modulated, though I could hear the faint, desperate tightness beneath it. "We need to talk."
"I'm listening," I said, staring out the window of my corner office.
She offered money first. Millions. Then, a massive licensing deal that would merge our supply chains.
"We are willing to look past the... unpleasantness of our history," Estelle said, as if she were granting me a pardon. "We can announce a partnership. A family photograph at the company’s anniversary gala this weekend."
"A photograph," I repeated flatly.
“You, Gideon, and Rosalie,” she said. “It would show the public that we have healed. That the Ellison family stands united in ensuring the safety of our children.”
“You want to use the child you rejected to save your brand.”
“Don't be dramatic, Mara. Your daughter could finally be welcomed into the family. She would have the Ellison name, the legacy, the trust fund. It's what you always wanted for her."
I looked at the silver laboratory case sitting on my desk.
“She was never waiting for your invitation, Estelle.”
"Without our distribution network, Northstar will plateau," Estelle threatened, her polite mask slipping. "Sign the rescue agreement. Come to the gala. We will make you a billionaire."
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"I will bring the agreement to the gala," I said softly. "Have your lawyers ready."
I hung up before she could say another word.
