The parent meeting had been a setup. Whereas Van Zee thought the company might finally be willing to make some compromises—“Art…really thought Purdue would feel some empathy” toward the banker, Sue Ella recalled—it was plain now that was not the case. The meeting had been brokered to shove the ad down the group’s throat. Sue Ella blew up, telling Haddox: “You have done more to hurt Appalachia than the coal industry has ever thought about doing.”
