Chapter 4 - The Dinner Planned as a Trap
Sloane did not show the note to Gavin.
She photographed it, placed it in an evidence envelope and delivered it directly to Naomi. Then she asked the mansion’s security manager for the recordings from the hallway outside the library.
“There was a system interruption between midnight and two in the morning,” he said.
“What caused it?”
“We are investigating.”
“Who has authority to disable interior cameras?”
“You, Mr. Vale and me.”
“Did you disable them?”
“No.”
“Did I?”
The security manager understood her meaning.
“No.”
Bryce had access.
But Sloane knew accusation was not enough. Every step Bryce had taken was designed to create uncertainty. She needed evidence he could not reinterpret.
Naomi advised her to behave normally.
“If Bryce believes you are preparing to expose him, he may destroy records or leave the country.”
“He has my company accounts.”
“We are quietly restricting his authority.”
“He will notice.”
“Not immediately.”
“And the house?”
“I checked the county filings. No transfer has been completed.”
“Could documents have been prepared without filing?”
“Yes.”
“Could he forge my signature?”
“He may already have samples from hundreds of contracts.”
Sloane thought of the threat against Gavin.
“What if someone gets hurt?”
“Then we involve the police now.”
“With what? A note anyone could have written and records that suggest fraud but do not yet prove who committed it?”
Naomi did not answer.
They both understood the danger of moving too early. Bryce had spent years building credibility with the board. If Sloane accused him without complete proof, he would claim she was reacting emotionally to an affair and protecting a guilty brother.
He might even convince people that she was unstable.
That afternoon, Sloane discovered that Bryce had scheduled a meeting with three board members in the mansion’s private dining room.
He described it as a reconciliation dinner.
“Reconciliation between whom?” she asked.
“You and my mother. You and Gavin. You and me.”
“Why are board members attending a family reconciliation?”
“Because the family conflict is affecting the company.”
“Who told them that?”
“They have eyes.”
Bryce adjusted his cuff links in the mirror.
“The city contract will be approved next week. We need stability.”
“And what do you want me to do at this dinner?”
“Sign the liability documents, confirm that you support the internal investigation and ask Gavin to leave the house until the case is resolved.”
Sloane looked at him through the mirror.
“You planned an audience so I would be pressured into agreeing.”
“I planned witnesses so no one could later misrepresent what happened.”
“Which documents am I signing?”
“The same ones you refused to complete.”
“The ones notarized by Emilia Rowe?”
Bryce’s hands stopped briefly.
“Our attorney selected the notary.”
“Which attorney?”
“Naomi.”
Sloane almost revealed that she had already asked Naomi.
Naomi had never seen the documents.
Instead, Sloane said, “Bring the complete legal file to dinner.”
“That would overwhelm the discussion.”
“I will not sign without it.”
Bryce turned.
“Then do not embarrass yourself by refusing in front of the board.”
Sloane smiled.
“Why would the truth embarrass me?”
She spent the evening preparing.
Adrian had traced another series of payments to Marlene. He had also recovered fragments of deleted emails from Bryce’s office account.
One message referred to Sloane as the temporary obstacle.
Another said the transfer must happen before the city contract increased the property value.
The recipient’s address had been erased.
Gavin wanted to confront Bryce immediately.
Sloane refused.
“We need him to believe I will sign.”
“You are going to sit at that table while they humiliate me.”
“I am going to let them reveal what they need me to believe.”
“And if they threaten me again?”
“They already did.”
Sloane showed him the note.
Gavin read it twice.
“You should have told me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“That is exactly what you said when you allowed Bryce to conduct the investigation.”
The comparison cut deeply.
Sloane did not defend herself.
“You are right.”
Gavin placed the note down.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Attend the dinner.”
“Bryce told me to stay upstairs.”
“That is why you will sit beside him.”
The dinner began at seven.
Marlene selected the seating arrangement. Bryce sat at the head of the marble table, even though the mansion and company belonged to Sloane. Marlene sat on his right. Sloane sat on his left.
Gavin was placed near the far end beside an empty chair.
Three board members attended, along with the company’s general counsel, Martin Saye.
Naomi had deliberately remained absent. Bryce had lied about her involvement, and Sloane wanted him to repeat that lie in front of witnesses.
For the first thirty minutes, the conversation remained polite.
Bryce spoke about the city project.
Marlene praised his leadership.
Martin described the liability documents as routine.
Sloane asked specific questions.
Martin answered vaguely.
Then Marlene turned toward Gavin.
“It is generous of Sloane to allow you at this table.”
Gavin set down his glass.
“I was invited.”
“After everything you have done.”
“After everything I was accused of doing.”
Marlene smiled.
“A distinction guilty people often enjoy.”
One of the board members shifted uncomfortably.
Bryce did nothing.
Sloane waited.
Marlene continued.
“Some families would refuse to feed a man who stole from them.”
Gavin’s grip tightened around his fork.
“I did not steal anything.”
“You stole peace from this house. You stole confidence from the company. You have spent your entire life depending on your sister’s patience.”
Gavin started to stand.
Sloane touched his arm.
“Remain seated.”
Marlene reached across the table and struck the fork from his hand.
It fell against the marble floor with a sharp metallic sound.
“You do not deserve food from this family’s table.”
Silence spread through the room.
Gavin lowered his head.
Sloane turned toward Bryce.
This was the moment she had been waiting for.
Not because she expected him to defend Gavin.
Because she needed the board to see that he would not.
Bryce looked at the fork.
Then he looked at Gavin.
“Clean the mess and bring us new plates.”
The final part of Sloane’s doubt disappeared.
She removed her wedding ring.
Slowly, she placed it beside Bryce’s plate.
“No,” she said. “You and your mother are leaving my house.”
Marlene stared at her.
Bryce stood.
“You are allowing a criminal to destroy our marriage.”
“You destroyed it when you decided humiliation was a form of leadership.”
Bryce reached for his legal folder.
In his anger, he left his laptop open.
A notification appeared.
Transfer completed: $150,000.
Sloane looked at the recipient.
Emilia Rowe.
Then the photograph and message appeared.
Bryce lunged.
The lights went out.
When the emergency lights returned, the laptop was gone.
Security sealed the exterior doors at Sloane’s command.
No one had left the house.
The laptop had disappeared somewhere inside the mansion.
Then a phone began ringing beneath the dining table.
It was not Sloane’s phone.
May you like
It belonged to Martin Saye, the company’s general counsel.
On the screen was a call from Emilia Rowe.
