Six days after Christmas, my father received a certified envelope from Summit Ridge Holdings. Regal Gem Jewelers had spent years expanding through commercial loans tied to several retail properties, and the lender holding the largest portion of that debt had recently sold the portfolio. Summit Ridge had purchased it months earlier as part of a broader acquisition. Julian had never targeted my father personally. He simply hadn’t bothered mentioning that Harold’s company now owed millions to a firm he controlled.
Dad called me immediately. His voice sounded nothing like it had on Christmas Eve. He demanded to know whether Julian had arranged the purchase as revenge. I told him the acquisition had closed before our family “vote” ever happened. Then Julian calmly explained that Regal Gem would be treated exactly like every other borrower: according to its contracts, payment history, and financial condition.
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