Chapter 9 - The Emails Victoria Could Not Destroy
The backup archive contained seven years of correspondence.
Most of it was ordinary.
Schedules.
Invoices.
Travel plans.
Board communications.
Buried among hundreds of thousands of files were forty-three messages involving Sarah Miller.
Nathan read every one.
Grace sat across from him.
Neither spoke for almost an hour.
Sarah’s first message was simple.
Nathan, I need to tell you something important. Please call me when you land.
Victoria marked it resolved.
The second was more urgent.
I’m pregnant. I know this timing is terrible, but I don’t want money. I just need to talk to you.
Resolved.
The third:
Please stop having your assistant respond for you. I need to hear this from you.
Resolved.
Then came an internal message from Victoria to Nathan’s former operations director.
If Sarah Miller contacts the office again, route her exclusively through me.
Nathan stared at the screen.
His hands shook.
Grace said quietly, “Keep reading.”
Then they found the forged settlement draft.
Victoria had written it from her own account.
She had attached Nathan’s signature image.
The file name was Sarah Final.
Nathan shut his eyes.
Grace felt tears run down her cheeks.
Sarah had spent four years believing those words came from him.
Michael discovered another email.
Victoria to her brother, Jason Hale.
Need temporary account for a sensitive disbursement. Keep it clean.
Three days later, seventy-five thousand dollars went to Harlow Consulting.
Then came the messages about Harbor Point.
Sarah had contacted Victoria again almost two years later.
This time she had evidence of environmental concealment.
Sarah wrote:
I don’t want to hurt Nathan. I believe he may not know. But families deserve the truth.
Victoria replied:
You already tried using a child against him. Do not attempt a second method.
Sarah responded:
Lily is not a method. She is his daughter.
Nathan stopped reading.
He stood and walked to the window.
Grace said nothing.
After several minutes, Nathan whispered, “She defended me.”
Grace knew what he meant.
Even after believing Nathan had rejected her and Lily, Sarah still believed he might not know about Harbor Point.
“She always said you weren’t cruel,” Grace said.
Nathan turned.
“She was wrong.”
“No.”
“I didn’t protect her.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I built a company where someone could do this in my name.”
Grace stared at him.
“That is something you can fix.”
Nathan looked at the emails.
“But I can’t fix Sarah.”
“No.”
The honesty hurt them both.
Michael continued searching.
At 11:40 p.m., he found the most important email.
It had been sent by Victoria to Jason Hale two days before Sarah’s crash.
She has copies. She is meeting someone Friday. This needs to end before Nathan hears any of it.
Jason replied:
What are you asking me to do?
Victoria answered:
I am asking you to protect everything we built.
No explicit instruction to hurt Sarah appeared.
But the next message came six hours after the crash.
Jason to Victoria:
It went too far.
Victoria replied:
Delete this conversation.
Grace stared at the words.
Nathan called the investigator.
By morning, police had warrants.
Jason Hale disappeared.
Victoria’s attorney claimed she knew nothing.
The press learned about the investigation anyway.
By noon, television trucks lined the road outside Nathan’s gates.
Cole Meridian’s stock-linked private debt instruments plunged.
Board members called emergency meetings.
Nathan ignored them.
He sat on the floor of the family room building wooden blocks with Lily.
Grace watched from the doorway.
Lily handed Nathan a red block.
“This goes here.”
Nathan placed it where she pointed.
“No.”
She sighed dramatically.
“You’re not good at houses.”
Nathan smiled.
“I build bridges.”
“Then build a bridge.”
He did.
Lily knocked it down.
Nathan laughed.
Grace had never heard him laugh like that.
Lily looked at him.
“Are you really my daddy?”
The room became quiet.
Nathan looked at Grace.
The second DNA results had arrived that morning.
Probability of paternity: 99.9998 percent.
Grace nodded.
Nathan turned back to Lily.
“Yes.”
Lily studied him.
“Why didn’t you come before?”
Nathan’s smile disappeared.
He could have lied.
He could have blamed Victoria.
He could have told Lily she was too young.
Instead he said, “I didn’t know where you were.”
“Mommy knew.”
“Yes.”
“Did Mommy tell you?”
“She tried.”
Lily thought.
“Did you hear her?”
Nathan’s eyes filled.
“No.”
Lily placed a block in his hand.
“That’s sad.”
“Yes.”
She leaned against him.
“You can hear me now.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Grace looked away.
His phone rang.
Daniel Price.
Nathan answered.
“Tell me.”
He listened.
Then stood.
Grace knew from his face.
“What happened?”
“They found Jason.”
“Where?”
“Pennsylvania.”
“Did he confess?”
Nathan listened again.
His expression became grim.
“He says Victoria ordered him to scare Sarah.”
Grace stopped breathing.
Nathan continued listening.
May you like
Then he looked at her.
“But he says someone else damaged the brakes.”
