Chapter 8 - Shadows of the Past
A month later, Thomas requested an extraordinary meeting. He brought a manila folder containing a flash drive and documents.
"A representative from Vanguard Beauty Group—your corporate rival—approached my brother Richard," Thomas explained. "They offered us $100,000 cash if we provided them with the original chemical formulations for your top skincare lines."
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked. "You could have taken the money."
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Thomas wept silently. "Because every time I betrayed you in the past, I destroyed myself a little more. My mother and Richard screamed at me to take the money. But for the first time in my life, I stood up to my mother. I told her: 'Jade didn't destroy us. We destroyed ourselves. She built everything she has with her own hands, and I will not steal from her again.'"
With the evidence Thomas provided, Eleanor filed a corporate espionage lawsuit against Vanguard Beauty Group, securing a $15 million settlement and a formal public apology.
