Additional debt arrangements had further weakened its position.
By the time Evan's company entered negotiations, a consortium of lenders and institutional shareholders held the power to approve a controlling equity transaction.
Darla's name remained on the brand.
Her photographs appeared in magazines.
She attended fashion shows, hosted celebrity events, and spoke confidently about company strategy.
But operational and financial control had gradually shifted away from the family.
Darla disliked discussing that reality.
She preferred the public image of a powerful heiress who commanded an international empire.
When colleagues mentioned the company's debt problems, she dismissed them as temporary accounting issues.
When factory managers raised concerns about production, she told them they needed to become more efficient.
When the board demanded a credible financial plan, she complained that accountants lacked imagination.
And when the acquisition process began, she resisted participating in meetings unless the discussion involved her personal role.
The board had kept her informed through official notices.
But Darla rarely read them carefully.
Her executive assistant filtered most administrative correspondence.
Her personal adviser handled communications she considered boring.
And because the identity of the acquiring investment group remained confidential during much of the negotiation, Darla never developed a clear understanding of who was purchasing control.
She assumed the final buyer would be a conventional luxury investment fund.
Someone familiar.
Someone who moved through the same social circles.
Someone who would appreciate the value of her name.
The idea that the new controlling shareholder might be a Black businessman who had grown up in a working-class apartment in Newark simply never entered her mind.
Not because Evan was unknown.
He was highly successful.
His acquisitions had been reported in major financial publications.
His company managed billions in investments.
But Darla paid little attention to business leaders outside her preferred social world.
She knew fashion editors.
Celebrity stylists.
Luxury hotel owners.
Socialites.
Designers.
She knew people who could help her obtain invitations to exclusive events.
She did not spend much time learning about the investors who controlled the financial future of her company.
That ignorance was about to become extraordinarily expensive.
On the evening before the flight, Darla attended a private party in Atlanta.
She wore a silver dress, enormous diamond earrings, and shoes custom-made for a European fashion house.
Her photographs appeared on several society accounts before midnight.
She posed beside musicians.