Chapter 6 - The Night Before the Runway
Clara had planned to leave quietly.
A jet owned by an old family friend was scheduled to take her to Boston, where Naomi’s legal team had arranged a secure residence. The evidence would be released after takeoff.
Then Richard came home early.
He was not alone.
Sabrina entered behind him wearing a pale pink satin dress and carrying a folder.
Clara stood in the living room, already dressed for the airport.
Richard stopped when he noticed her suitcase.
“Where are you going?”
“Boston.”
“For what?”
“I need space.”
Sabrina stepped forward.
“You can’t disappear with company documents.”
Clara looked directly at her.
“I never said I had company documents.”
Sabrina realized her mistake too late.
Richard shut the front door.
“Clara, let’s discuss this calmly.”
She glanced at the hidden recording device inside her briefcase.
“Go ahead.”
What followed lasted twenty-seven minutes.
Richard admitted the affair.
Sabrina admitted she was pregnant.
Richard insisted he loved both women before blaming Clara for becoming distant.
Sabrina demanded that Richard keep his promise to divorce Clara after obtaining her voting shares.
Richard told Sabrina to stop talking.
Sabrina shouted that the Meridian scheme had been his idea.
Richard shouted back that she had created the false invoices.
Then came the sentence Clara needed most.
Richard pointed at her.
“No one will believe you. By tomorrow, the board will have medical records proving you’re unstable.”
Clara’s heart pounded, but her face remained still.
“You mean the false records you paid for?”
Silence filled the room.
Richard’s expression changed.
The mask disappeared.
“Give me the briefcase,” he said.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
Clara raised her phone.
“My driver is outside. Airport security has already been contacted. If I do not walk through that door in thirty seconds, this recording is released immediately.”
Sabrina grabbed Richard’s arm.
“Let her go.”
Richard stared at Clara with naked hatred.
Then he moved aside.
Clara walked past them without another word.
May you like
She did not expect Richard and Sabrina to follow her to the airport.
She should have.
