Chapter 9
Elaine’s advisory plan already had supporters.
Not many.
Enough.
Thomas Hale told me two senior men believed Whitaker needed broader family input.
That did not make them traitors.
It made them men with an argument.
I invited them in.
Elaine was not present.
Andrew was.
He hated that.
Good.
I asked:
“Do we need broader oversight?”
Samuel Ward answered yes.
Another captain, Miles Cole, agreed.
I nodded.
“What structure?”
Samuel described a five-member advisory body.
Nothing like Elaine’s three-person council.
No automatic seat for Andrew.
No family-only majority.
Interesting.
“Did Elaine tell you she wanted three?”
Samuel frowned.
“No.”
Andrew looked toward me.
There.
Customized stories.
Elaine had told him one plan.
Told the capos another.
Enough overlap to sound aligned.
Different details to secure different interests.
Miles spoke.
“She said Andrew deserved representation.”
Andrew shifted.
Samuel looked at him.
“Representation for what?”
Exactly.
Andrew had not realized Elaine described him as a constituency rather than a leader.
He looked embarrassed.
Good.
I asked:
“Did either of you know Lucy was being used at these dinners?”
Both said no.
Samuel looked furious when I explained.
“That was not part of what I agreed with.”
There.
Elaine’s mistake.
She assumed men who wanted reform would tolerate manipulation because it helped reform.
They would not.
At least not all.
I looked at Andrew.
“You wanted recognition.”
He nodded.
I looked at Samuel.
“You wanted oversight.”
“Yes.”
Then at both.
“She wanted control.”
Silence.
Three different goals.
One woman pretending they were the same.
The council did not exist.
But the conflict finally did.
May you like
Openly.
That was healthier already.
