At eighteen, my father paid for my twin sister’s expensive university, apartment, laptop and car. He handed me $200 and said there would be no more because she was the better investment. I worked my way through college and built a life without him. Eight years later, his company desperately needed $40 million to survive. He entered the investment meeting, looked toward the person deciding his future—and dropped every folder in his hands.

Sullivan Flooring obtained money from a private lender charging an interest rate high enough to keep the company alive but permanently vulnerable. Dad blamed Calder Ridge publicly, while Brooke was promoted to vice president for helping secure the replacement loan.

I remained at the firm and advanced faster than anyone expected. My ability to identify weaknesses other analysts missed brought successful investments, protected pension funds and eventually earned me responsibility for the firm’s distressed-business division.

Six years later, Eleanor announced her retirement and recommended me as Calder Ridge’s next chief investment officer. The board approved the appointment unanimously.

On my first day in the position, my assistant delivered a request from a regional manufacturing fund seeking a forty-million-dollar partnership. The applicant had recently purchased Sullivan Flooring’s predatory debt and could force the company into bankruptcy within ninety days.

Dad and Brooke were proposing a rescue deal. In return for Calder Ridge’s money, they offered a minority share and insisted that the Sullivan family retain complete management control.