Chapter 6 - Thirty-Eight Minutes to DenverThe thirty-eight minutes before landing felt longer than the eleven years of our marriage.
After the board suspended Ryan, his messages arrived one after another.
Executives demanded explanations.
Bank representatives confirmed that transfers had been blocked.
Altura security reported that his credentials were disabled.
Northstar canceled the closing meeting.
Ryan attempted to call Peter Lang, but Peter did not answer.
Then he called Martin Hale.
Martin answered on speaker.
“You are represented by personal counsel now,” Martin said. “I cannot advise you.”
“Martin, listen to me. Claire is having some kind of breakdown.”
I almost admired how quickly he tried to change the story.
Martin remained calm.
“The board has reviewed financial records, communications, and evidence of an unauthorized intellectual-property transaction.”
“There was no unauthorized transaction.”
“The patent is held by the Mercer Innovation Trust. You do not possess authority to sell it.”
“I’m the CEO.”
“You were the CEO.”
Ryan ended the call.
Chloe was still reading the documents in the blue folder.
When she reached the page showing the one-way tickets to the Cayman Islands, she looked up.
“There’s only one ticket in my name.”
Ryan said nothing.
She flipped to the next page.
The second ticket was for a woman named Danielle Cross.
“Who is Danielle?”
Ryan’s expression changed.
I had wondered the same thing when Daniel discovered the reservation.
Danielle was Northstar’s vice president of acquisitions.
She was also married.
Daniel believed Ryan had been involved with her for nearly a year.
Chloe looked as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“You told me we were leaving together.”
“Chloe, this is not what it looks like.”
I could not stop myself.
“That is the exact sentence he used when I found your hotel receipt.”
She stared at Ryan.
“Were you using me to create Summit?”
“No.”
“Did you put those companies in Mason’s name so you could blame us?”
Ryan’s silence answered her.
Chloe closed the folder.
For the first time, she looked directly at me.
“I didn’t know about the patent.”
“I believe you,” I said. “But you knew about the affair, the false travel expenses, and some of the invoices.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Ryan leaned toward her.
“Do not say another word.”
She moved away.
“You told me Claire abandoned the marriage years ago.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“You said she refused to be involved in the company.”
Ryan’s voice became sharp.
“She’s manipulating you.”
“No,” Chloe said quietly. “You manipulated both of us.”
The seatbelt sign illuminated.
The flight attendants prepared the cabin for landing.
Ryan glanced repeatedly toward the front, perhaps calculating whether he could leave the aircraft before anyone stopped him.
I sent the final evidence package to Evelyn, Martin, and the outside investigators.
The plane descended through thick clouds.
Denver appeared below us, surrounded by wide stretches of brown and green land.
Ryan leaned toward me.
“We can still fix this.”
I looked at him.
“Which part?”
“The company. The marriage. All of it.”
“You were planning to disappear with ninety-two million dollars.”
“I was under pressure.”
“You were planning to leave me with lawsuits, hundreds of unemployed workers, and a destroyed reputation.”
“You don’t understand what it’s like to run Altura.”
“I built Altura.”
“I made it successful.”
“You sold what I created.”
His voice lowered.
“Claire, think carefully. A public scandal will damage you too.”
There it was.
Not regret.
Not love.
A threat wrapped in concern.
I turned toward the window as the plane touched down.
“Then we’ll both live with the truth.”
When we reached the gate, passengers remained seated longer than usual.
Two airport police officers entered first.
Behind them were federal investigators and a representative from Altura’s legal team.
Ryan stood.
One investigator approached him.
“Mr. Mercer, we need to speak with you regarding an attempted fraudulent transfer of protected intellectual property.”
Ryan looked at me one final time.
“You’ll regret this.”
“No,” I said. “I regret waiting this long.”
They escorted him from the aircraft.
Chloe remained in her seat, crying silently.
As I passed her, she touched my sleeve.
“I’ll tell them everything.”
May you like
I nodded.
“That is the first honest thing either of you has done.”
Related Stories
