Chapter 14 - THE SON WHO WANTED REVENGE
Alexander remained calm in public.
In private, he wanted Daniel destroyed.
He wanted immediate dismissal.
Criminal charges.
A public statement naming him.
He wanted every newspaper in New York to carry the image of his shoe striking Martha’s coat.
Martha listened from a hospital examination room.
She had severe bruising but no fracture.
“Fire him,” she said.
“That is already happening.”
“Cooperate with prosecutors.”
“We will.”
“But do not use the bank to crush him beyond the law.”
Alexander stared at her.
“He kicked you.”
“I know.”
“He called you a beggar.”
“I heard him.”
“He would have thrown you outside if the phone had not rung.”
“Yes.”
Alexander’s control broke.
“I built this bank so no one could treat you that way again.”
Martha touched his hand.
“You built a bank. You did not build a world without cruel people.”
“I should have known what was happening inside my own branches.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
The answer surprised him.
Martha did not protect him from accountability.
“You trusted reports more than people,” she continued. “Daniel was not the only one who failed.”
Alexander sat down.
She had financed his first office.
Now she was reminding him why.
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Power did not remove responsibility.
It multiplied it.
