Sweat pools under my armpits and on my upper lip. “I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. Without your explicit permission, we can’t so much as record Mrs. Vanderbilt saying hello, let alone record footage of the inside of the store. If she doesn’t sign, we can’t proceed with the interview at all.” The sweating worsens. I try to inconspicuously wipe away the cold droplets on my forehead.

The mean PA woman doesn’t buy my stream of BS. “Then I suggest we postpone until our lawyers have had time to review these papers.”

“Nonsense,” Rebecca interjects. “Give me the document.”

“Mrs. Vanderbilt,” the PA insists. “I strongly suggest you reconsider.”

Luckily, Aurora’s mother is not very good at taking advice.

With a wave of her hand, she says, “Oh, please. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t taken a risk or two down the road. Pen!”

The reluctant PA hands her a Montblanc and Rebecca happily signs her own death warrant. Gotcha!

After three makeup retouches, The Madame is finally ready to go on screen. We sit on the apricot couches outside the fitting rooms, wait a few seconds for the lighting technician to adjust the lamps, and then we’re rolling…

After a few introductory questions, I start laying my trap. “Mrs. Vanderbilt, I don’t know if you remember, but the last time I saw you, we were in LA at Christian’s Slade charity ball for his Teachers without Postcodes fair education project. Given how busy you are as CEO of Maison Vanderbilt, do you often find time to attend charitable events like that one?”

“Coming from a family of entrepreneurs and being an entrepreneur myself, one of the key aspects of my work ethic is giving back to the community. That’s why I always make time for public service, no matter how busy my schedule is. At Maison Vanderbilt, we constantly strain to give more than our due, contributing to various charities on top of our legal obligations.”

“As it happens, Maison Vanderbilt is one of the most generous companies when it comes to charity.” I shuffle my papers to check the numbers. “My records show that last year alone, you contributed over five million dollars to different projects. With a specific focus on youth and education.”

“Yes, exactly. We focus in particular on nurturing the next generation of talent. It’s extremely important to foster tomorrow’s leaders as they represent our future.”

“Public education in our country is mainly funded through taxes—property taxes for the most part, but also state and federal taxes. So what do you think of companies that use tax havens to hide assets and pay fewer taxes than what they really owe?”

“Well, they’re obviously cheating society and robbing communities blind. Everyone has to do their part.”

“Those are sage words, Mrs. Vanderbilt, and it’s interesting hearing them coming from you. What about yourself? Have you ever had any connection to an offshore company?”

“Maison Vanderbilt has many international branches.” Rebecca grimaces. “Some of them are located in countries with taxation incentives. It’s common practice for multinational companies to-to… anyway, I don’t see what the point of this question is… It feels almost as if you were accusing me of something.”