“She told them she was reviewing our marketing materials for the next quarter,” Derek said.

I felt a cold sweat break out on the back of my neck.

“We have to block the transfer, Derek,” I said. “We can’t let her buy her way in.”

“It’s not that simple,” Derek said.

“Why not?” I asked. “We have the right of first refusal on any secondary market sales.”

“We do,” Derek said. “But Peter’s shares are held under an old founder-friend agreement we signed in the garage.”

“That agreement had a standard transfer restriction,” I said.

“It did, but there’s a clause about family transfers,” Derek said. “She’s arguing that because she is immediate family, the right of first refusal doesn’t apply the same way.”

“She isn’t the one buying them directly,” I said. “She used Blue Ridge Capital.”

“Which she registered as a family trust vehicle last week,” Derek said.

I closed my eyes, picturing my mother sitting at her antique writing desk, signing the papers with her gold Parker pen.

She had planned this out, step by step, the moment she saw the tech blogs writing about our funding round.