Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Controlled the Money
Margaret did not deny it.
Arthur confronted her inside a secure apartment owned by the company.
Samuel remained near the door.
Margaret sat across from them, the torn ledger page on the table.
Her younger name appeared beside a payment authorization.
Margaret Lorne.
Assistant financial controller, Dorian Medical Systems.
“You told me you never worked there,” Arthur said.
“I never told you that.”
“Samuel did.”
Margaret glanced at him.
“Then Samuel was wrong.”
Arthur placed both hands on the table.
“Start talking.”
Margaret looked older than she had the day before.
“In 1997, Dorian Medical hired me to reconcile research expenses. I found payments to clinics that did not exist and patients who had never signed consent forms.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
“I did.”
“To whom?”
“Evelyn.”
Arthur leaned back.
Margaret continued.
“She contacted me after reviewing documents from your acquisition. We worked together for six months.”
“You never told me.”
“Evelyn made me promise.”
“Everyone seems to have made promises to my wife except me.”
“She didn’t know who she could trust.”
“I was her husband.”
“You were also determined to protect the acquisition.”
Arthur had no answer.
Margaret touched the ledger page.
“Evelyn believed someone inside Dorian was eliminating records and threatening families. She copied the evidence into the ledger.”
“Who ran the trials?”
“A committee of investors and physicians. They called themselves the Continuity Group.”
Samuel frowned.
“I’ve never heard that name.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
“Who was E?” Arthur asked.
Margaret hesitated.
“Eleanor Vale.”
Arthur recognized the name.
Eleanor Vale had founded Dorian Medical.
Officially, she died in a plane crash one year before Arthur purchased the company.
“Eleanor is dead.”
“No body was recovered.”
Samuel moved closer.
“You believe she survived?”
“I know she did.”
“How?”
“Because she called me after Evelyn’s funeral.”
Arthur felt cold.
“What did she say?”
“That Evelyn had stolen company property and that anyone helping her would be punished.”
“Why did you come to work for me?”
“To find the ledger before Eleanor did.”
“For twenty-four years?”
“I believed it was destroyed.”
Arthur stared at her.
“Did you forge the trust amendment?”
“No.”
“Did you hire Holloway?”
“No.”
“Did you help Vanessa?”
“No.”
“Did you know Vanessa was part of the trial?”
Margaret looked at the page.
“Not until today.”
Samuel walked to the window.
“We need to get Arthur somewhere secure.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Nowhere is secure if Eleanor controls the people around Vanessa.”
Arthur’s phone rang.
The screen showed the penthouse security system.
Motion detected in the bedroom.
He opened the live feed.
Vanessa stood beside his desk.
Julian was with her.
They were searching through drawers.
Arthur activated the room microphone.
Julian’s voice came through.
“He knows about the pills.”
Vanessa threw a stack of papers to the floor.
“Then we accelerate.”
“You said five days.”
“I’m not waiting.”
“E told us not to change the schedule.”
Vanessa turned toward him.
“I don’t care what E said. Once Arthur is declared incapacitated, the trust becomes mine.”
“The amended trust hasn’t been approved.”
“It will be.”
“How?”
Vanessa smiled.
“Samuel will approve it.”
In the apartment, all eyes turned toward the attorney.
Samuel looked stunned.
“I have never seen that amendment.”
Vanessa continued on the feed.
“Samuel’s signature is already prepared. We only need Arthur’s blood test to show progressive organ failure.”
Julian looked uneasy.
“And if he refuses to go to the hospital?”
“He won’t have a choice.”
Vanessa opened her purse and removed a small glass vial.
Arthur recognized the blue tint of the liquid.
Margaret whispered, “What is that?”
On the screen, Vanessa held the vial against the light.
“A full dose,” she said. “By morning, he won’t be able to stand.”
Arthur turned off the feed.
Samuel reached for his phone.
“We call the police now.”
“No,” Arthur said.
“Arthur, she has enough poison to kill you.”
“Which is why she must believe I know nothing.”
Margaret understood first.
“You’re going home.”
Arthur nodded.
Samuel stared at him.
“That is suicidal.”
“No. It’s the only way to learn who delivers the forged trust, who controls Vanessa, and what Eleanor wants beyond the ledger.”
“You could die.”
Arthur looked down at Vanessa’s medical record.
“She thinks she’s poisoning the man who betrayed her.”
“Did you?”
May you like
Arthur folded the page.
“Perhaps without ever knowing her name.”
