Chapter 8 - Vanessa Before Nathan)
Nathan first met Vanessa at a charity gala eighteen months after Emily died.
At least that was what he had believed.
Vanessa had approached him beside a silent auction table.
She made a joke about an absurd modern sculpture.
Nathan laughed for the first time in weeks.
They spoke for twenty minutes.
Then an hour.
She never pushed.
Never asked about his money.
Never tried to meet Olivia too quickly.
Everything about her had seemed careful and respectful.
Now Nathan understood why.
It had been researched.
Designed.
Engineered.
Emily's letter explained the beginning.
Vanessa Cole worked for a public relations firm used by Larkspur Holdings.
Emily discovered several payments made to Vanessa personally.
She believed Vanessa specialized in reputation management for people involved in sensitive financial disputes.
Emily had seen Vanessa meeting Adrian and Leonard.
She photographed them.
The photographs were inside the red box.
Nathan spread them across the table.
Vanessa leaving Leonard's office.
Vanessa sitting beside Adrian in a hotel restaurant.
Vanessa accepting an envelope from Dr. Malcolm Trent.
All before Nathan met her.
Sarah Bennett read the ledger.
"Emily believed Vanessa helped create false narratives around anyone who questioned Leonard."
Rebecca nodded.
"She told me that once."
Nathan looked at her.
"What kind of narratives?"
"Addiction. Mental illness. Marital problems. Anything that made witnesses unreliable."
Nathan thought about Rebecca being placed in a psychiatric clinic.
"And after Emily died?"
Rebecca looked toward the floor.
"Vanessa moved closer to you."
Nathan's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Probably because Leonard realized the greatest threat was Olivia."
Nathan looked toward his daughter playing quietly with wooden blocks.
"She was a baby."
"She was also Emily's heir."
Sarah opened the trust agreement.
"When Emily died, her personal assets transferred into a protected trust for Olivia."
Nathan nodded.
"I know."
"Did you know Emily had purchased minority shares in three Whitmore subsidiaries separately from your marital assets?"
Nathan frowned.
"No."
Sarah turned the document.
"Olivia owns them."
Nathan stared.
"How much?"
"Current value, approximately seventy three million dollars."
Nathan looked at Rebecca.
"Emily never told me."
"She was planning to."
Sarah continued.
"The important part isn't just the money. The shares carry voting rights."
Nathan understood.
When combined with Nathan's controlling interest, the shares were harmless.
But if Nathan died or became legally incapacitated, Olivia's trustee could influence the company.
Leonard was secondary trustee.
Vanessa's plan suddenly made sense.
Marriage gave her proximity to Nathan.
Forged medical documents could remove Olivia.
Trust amendments could increase Leonard's temporary control.
If anything happened to Nathan during the honeymoon, Vanessa could claim spousal authority while Leonard controlled Olivia's trust.
Nathan stood.
"They planned everything."
Sarah's voice remained calm.
"We can prove financial conspiracy. We still need evidence connecting the plan to harm."
Olivia looked up from the floor.
"They talked about Daddy's plane."
Every adult stopped.
Nathan turned.
"What did you say?"
Olivia looked frightened by their reaction.
"Vanessa and Adrian."
"When?"
"Before wedding."
"What did they say?"
Olivia squeezed one wooden block.
"They said Italy was easier."
Nathan's skin went cold.
"Easier for what?"
Olivia shook her head.
"I couldn't hear."
Nathan approached slowly.
"Did you hear anything else?"
She nodded.
"Adrian said Mr. Vale fixed the mountain road once."
Rebecca gasped.
Nathan looked at her.
The mountain road.
Emily's accident.
Sarah stood immediately.
"Nobody leaves this property."
Nathan's breathing became shallow.
He had spent three years believing Emily died because of rain.
Now his daughter had just repeated a sentence suggesting someone had fixed the road.
Michael entered quickly.
"Sir, we traced Leonard's car."
"Where?"
"An abandoned warehouse near the old municipal airfield."
Nathan grabbed his coat.
Sarah blocked him.
"You are not going there alone."
Nathan's eyes were colder than she had ever seen.
"No."
May you like
He looked toward Michael.
"I'm going with him."
