Page 124 of You Owe Me

It’s a generous offer, considering what Carter has put Ainsley through. Considering the threats, the intimidation, the federal investigation that could have destroyed my family’s business if I hadn’t already neutralized it.

But I’m not feeling generous.

I’m feeling surgical.

Carter’s head snaps up. “That’s it? That’s your big revenge? More of the same corrupt bullshit you’ve been running for years?”

The kid still doesn’t get it. Still thinks this is about power or money or academic influence. Still believes he understands the game being played at this table.

He doesn’t.

This was never about Carter Mills or his pathetic attempts at intimidation. This was about demonstrating to Ainsley—andto anyone else who might be watching—exactly what happens when someone threatens what’s mine.

“Oh, Carter,” I say softly, my voice carrying just enough pity to make him bristle. “You think this is the revenge?”

I stand slowly, deliberately, drawing out the moment. Every eye in the restaurant is on our table now, though they’re pretending not to stare. Rich people love drama as much as anyone else; they’re just better at being subtle about it.

“This isn’t revenge,” I continue, pulling out my phone again. “This is education.”

A few more swipes, and I’m in my email. The message is already drafted, ready to send with a single touch. Multiple recipients—the board of trustees, the university’s legal department, the student newspaper, and several faculty members who’ve been suspiciously quiet about academic integrity issues.

The subject line reads:RE: Systematic Academic Fraud and Administrative Corruption—Evidence Attached.

“The revenge,” I say, finger hovering over the send button, “is that you’re about to learn what happens when you don’t pay your debts.”

Carter’s eyes widen as he realizes what I’m holding. “You can’t. My father?—”

“Your father will survive this,” I interrupt. “Damaged, disgraced, probably forced into early retirement, but alive. You, on the other hand…”

I let the implication hang in the air. Because the beautiful thing about Carter’s situation is that he’s no longer protected by his father’s position. Dean Mills can’t cover up scandals when he’s facing his own investigation. Can’t make problems disappear when he’s the problem.

Carter will face the academic integrity board alone. He’ll face the complete destruction of his academic career and hisfamily’s reputation with nothing but his own pathetic resources to protect him.

“Unless,” I add casually, “you’d prefer to discuss alternative arrangements.”

The silence stretches between us like a loaded weapon. I can see the calculations happening behind Carter’s eyes, the desperate search for an escape route that doesn’t exist.

Finally, Dean Mills speaks. “What kind of arrangements?”

I smile—not the cold, predatory expression that’s been living on my face for the past few minutes. Something warmer. More reasonable. The smile of a man offering salvation to the drowning.

“Carter takes an IOU,” I say simply, reaching into my jacket to pull out a card. “Just like his father did three years ago.”

“That’s—” Carter starts to protest, but his father cuts him off with a sharp gesture.

“And in return?” Dean Mills’s voice carries the weight of a man who already knows this dance.

“In return, this evidence stays sealed. Your son’s academic record stays clean. You continue in your current position with all the… flexibility our arrangement has always provided.” I slide the card across the table toward Carter with deliberate precision. “Everyone walks away with their futures intact. Under new management, of course.”

The beauty of it settles over the table like a perfectly executed chess move. Carter doesn’t get to run away to another coast, another life, another chance to cause problems I can’t control. He stays right here, under my thumb, part of my network.

Just like Daddy.

It’s more than generous. It’s poetic. Father and son, both in my debt. Both part of the system that keeps this campus running exactly the way I want it to run. And I can see in Carter’s eyesthat he’s starting to understand the true scope of what I’ve built here.

The smart play would be to take it immediately. Accept that he’s been beaten, that he never stood a chance, that his only option now is to become another cog in my machine.

But Carter Mills has never been accused of being smart.

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