Reed stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” Maverick replied evenly, “that the lifestyle you’ve been enjoying here has been heavily subsidized.”
The silence was absolute.
Then Maverick looked directly at Helen.
“The company that owns this property—Ironwood Holdings—belongs to me.”
Her champagne glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the marble floor.
“You’ve been living in this house,” Maverick continued calmly, “because I allowed it. As a favor to Sharon’s brother.”
He paused.
“But tonight, after seeing how my family was treated…”
He pulled up the contract again.
“I’m exercising the non-renewal clause.”
Then he looked back at Reed.
“Your lease ends in thirty days.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The entire party seemed frozen.
My brother looked like someone had just had the ground pulled out from beneath him.
“Maverick… please,” Reed said quietly. “I didn’t know.”
“I know you didn’t,” Maverick replied.
His voice wasn’t angry anymore. Just steady.
“That’s why the arrangement existed in the first place.”
Helen, however, had gone completely silent. The confident smile she’d worn all evening had disappeared.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
Maverick turned back to her.
“You talked a lot tonight about class,” he said calmly. “About standards.”
No one dared interrupt him.
“Real class,” he continued, “has nothing to do with designer clothes or expensive addresses.”
He gestured around the room.
“It’s about how you treat people—especially the ones you believe can’t do anything for you.”
Helen’s face flushed deep red.
“You mocked my children,” Maverick added quietly. “That’s something I won’t ignore.”
Then he reached for my hand.
“We’re leaving.”
The crowd parted as we walked toward the exit. No one laughed now. No one whispered.
Most guests suddenly seemed very interested in their drinks.
Outside, the cool night air felt like freedom.
Reed followed us onto the front steps.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I got caught up in all of this. I thought… I thought I’d finally made it.”
Maverick placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You’re a smart man, Reed,” he said. “But you started believing your worth came from appearances.”
He nodded toward the mansion behind us.
“This isn’t success. It’s a costume.”
Reed didn’t argue.
We got into our old Subaru and started the long drive back to Vermont.
A few minutes later, Willa spoke from the back seat.
