Chapter 5 - The Lawyer Who Had Been Paid to Look Away
Martin claimed he had never spoken to Emilia.
The phone continued ringing in his hand while every person at the table watched him.
Bryce recovered first.
“Answer it,” he said.
Martin declined the call.
“It must be a wrong number.”
Sloane held out her hand.
“Give me the phone.”
“You have no authority to take my personal property.”
“Then answer her in front of us.”
Martin placed the phone in his pocket.
“This situation has become irrational.”
“So has a pregnant woman calling my general counsel immediately after my husband transferred her one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
Martin stood.
“I am leaving.”
“The doors are temporarily locked while security investigates the theft of a computer.”
“You cannot detain me.”
“You may leave as soon as you allow security to confirm that you do not have the laptop.”
Martin’s face reddened.
“I will not submit to a search.”
Gavin looked toward Martin’s leather briefcase.
“It’s in there.”
Martin gripped the handle.
Bryce stepped between them.
“No one is searching anyone.”
Sloane turned to the security manager.
“Call the police and report the theft.”
The board members exchanged worried glances.
Martin’s confidence vanished.
“That is unnecessary.”
“Then open the briefcase.”
Martin looked at Bryce.
The glance lasted only a moment, but it was enough.
Sloane saw the relationship clearly.
Martin was not protecting his privacy.
He was waiting for Bryce’s permission.
Bryce spoke quietly.
“Open it.”
Martin placed the briefcase on the table and entered the combination.
Inside were legal documents, a tablet and two sealed envelopes.
No laptop.
The security team searched the dining room, hallways and adjacent sitting rooms. They found nothing.
The interior camera system had failed at the exact moment the lights went out.
Again.
Sloane ordered the guests to remain in the sunroom while security inspected the house. Bryce refused.
“You are behaving like a dictator.”
“This is my property.”
“Our property.”
“My grandmother left it to me before we married.”
“Our marriage gives me rights.”
“Not the right to transfer it to a woman carrying your child.”
Bryce’s expression remained unreadable.
“You do not know that the child is mine.”
“You did not say the child was not yours.”
Marlene interrupted.
“This conversation should not take place in front of employees.”
Sloane faced her.
“You had no problem humiliating Gavin in front of the board.”
“Gavin created this crisis.”
“No. Gavin became useful because you needed someone to blame.”
Martin’s phone rang again.
This time, the number was blocked.
He stepped away from the table, but Sloane moved closer.
“Answer it.”
Martin hesitated, then accepted the call.
A woman spoke loudly enough for Sloane to hear.
“Did you get the laptop?”
Martin ended the call.
The room became silent.
Sloane held out her hand again.
Martin finally gave her the phone.
The recent call log showed three earlier conversations with Emilia.
One had lasted twenty-seven minutes.
“You said you had never spoken to her,” Sloane said.
Martin wiped a hand over his forehead.
“I was instructed to maintain confidentiality.”
“By whom?”
“As general counsel, I serve the company.”
“That was not my question.”
Martin looked toward Bryce.
Bryce’s voice turned cold.
“Do not say another word without independent representation.”
Sloane almost laughed.
“My husband is giving my company’s attorney advice on how not to answer questions about stealing from me.”
“This has become a personal dispute,” Bryce said.
“Then why is company money involved?”
“It is not.”
“Adrian traced the missing funds.”
The mention of Adrian produced an unexpected reaction.
Martin looked genuinely confused.
“Who is Adrian?”
“An independent forensic accountant.”
Bryce stepped closer.
“You hired an outside investigator without board approval?”
“I am the majority owner.”
“You may have violated governance procedures.”
“And you may have forged documents to steal my house.”
Sloane’s phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
The laptop is in the east wing. Come alone if you want to know who Bryce really married.
Sloane read the message twice.
The east wing was where Marlene lived.
Sloane looked up.
Marlene was gone.
She had been standing near the windows only seconds earlier.
“Where is your mother?” Sloane asked.
Bryce turned.
For the first time that evening, he appeared honestly alarmed.
Sloane left the dining room before anyone could stop her.
She crossed the main hall and climbed the east staircase. Gavin followed several steps behind.
“The message said to come alone,” she told him.
“That is why I’m coming.”
They reached Marlene’s suite.
The door was open.
Inside, drawers had been pulled out and clothing covered the floor. The mattress had been lifted. A small wall safe stood open behind a painting.
Marlene was not there.
The laptop sat on the desk.
Sloane approached carefully.
The screen displayed a paused video.
Bryce was sitting in the same hotel suite where he had been photographed with Emilia.
Martin stood beside him.
Marlene was near the window.
Emilia’s voice came from behind the camera.
“When does Sloane sign?”
Bryce answered.
“At the anniversary dinner.”
“That is weeks away.”
“I need her to believe the trust is part of the city contract.”
“And after the property moves?”
“Martin files the separation papers.”
Emilia’s voice trembled.
“You said you would leave her before the baby was born.”
Bryce looked directly toward the camera.
“I will. But first, Sloane has to lose control of the company.”
The video ended.
Gavin exhaled slowly.
“That should be enough.”
“No,” Sloane said.
“Enough for what?”
“To prove the affair. To prove the plan. But not enough to explain why Marlene stole the laptop and placed it here.”
A sound came from the adjoining dressing room.
Gavin moved toward it.
Sloane reached for a heavy candleholder.
The door opened.
Marlene stepped out.
Her pale pink jacket was torn at the sleeve. Bloodless fear filled her face.
“Lock the door,” she whispered.
“Why?” Sloane asked.
May you like
Marlene looked toward the hallway.
“Because Bryce knows I kept the original recording.”
