Chapter 7 - What Daniel Was Hiding)
The board suspended Daniel before noon.
Not permanently.
Administrative leave.
Pending financial review.
Financial media picked up the story forty minutes later.
Mercer Meridian shares dropped eleven percent before trading was temporarily halted.
Claire watched none of it.
She sat at the kitchen table reading the diary page by page.
The emotional devastation had begun changing into something colder.
Attention.
Every photograph showed Daniel and Vanessa.
But the diary itself barely discussed romance.
Instead, it documented transactions.
Dates.
Meetings.
Payments.
Aster.
Grayhaven.
Lisbon.
And Claire.
One entry from eight months earlier read:
D refuses to tell C. Says pregnancy changes everything.
Another:
I warned him that hiding the collateral will destroy the marriage if she discovers it.
Then:
He says he can fix Aster before closing.
Another entry:
He still believes Mercer can be saved.
Claire stared.
Mercer can be saved.
Not Aster.
Mercer.
She called Maya.
“Daniel’s company was in trouble before the acquisition.”
Maya looked up from her laptop.
“That’s possible.”
“No. I think that’s the center of this.”
Claire rotated the diary.
“If Aster is dangerous, why is Daniel desperate to buy it?”
Maya considered.
“Maybe he needs something Aster owns.”
“Patents?”
“Could be.”
“Or cash.”
“Aster has cash but not enough to justify this risk.”
Claire tapped the page.
“What if the acquisition isn’t meant to make Mercer stronger?”
Maya understood.
“What if it’s meant to hide something?”
They looked at each other.
Adrian entered carrying printed documents.
“I found Lisbon.”
Claire stood immediately.
“And?”
“Daniel stayed at the Altura Grand.”
“With Vanessa?”
“Vanessa Cole was registered there on two of the same dates.”
Claire looked away.
Adrian continued.
“But there’s more.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
Security footage from a hotel lobby.
Daniel walking beside Vanessa.
Claire almost refused to look.
Then she noticed Vanessa’s expression.
She was not smiling.
Daniel wasn’t touching her.
They appeared to be arguing.
“There’s another person.”
Adrian placed a second image down.
A man walking several feet behind them.
Tall.
Dark coat.
Claire did not recognize him.
“Who?”
“Julian Cole.”
“Vanessa’s brother?”
“Yes.”
Maya stood.
“The shell company director.”
Adrian nodded.
Claire studied the image.
“What happened in Lisbon?”
“Police responded to an incident at the hotel that night.”
Her heart jumped.
“What incident?”
“Vanessa was reported missing.”
Claire went still.
“What?”
“She disappeared for approximately thirty-six hours.”
“Was she found?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Hospital.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“What happened?”
“Official report says accidental overdose.”
Claire frowned.
“Drugs?”
“Sedatives.”
“Was Daniel involved?”
“He was questioned because he had been seen with her earlier that evening.”
“And?”
“No charges.”
“Why didn’t this become public?”
“Vanessa refused to cooperate with police.”
Claire looked down at the diary.
“What was Daniel doing there?”
“That is still unclear.”
Maya suddenly turned several pages.
“Wait.”
She pointed to an entry dated one day before the Lisbon incident.
J knows.
If he gets the files, we are finished.
Claire looked at Adrian.
“Julian?”
“Likely.”
Another entry.
D wants me to leave. I told him I need insurance.
Claire touched the diary.
“This.”
“What?”
“This diary was her insurance.”
Maya nodded slowly.
Claire read another line.
C can stop the transaction. She just doesn’t know she has to.
Claire felt her skin prickle.
Vanessa had known about the emergency provisions.
Vanessa had known Claire could stop Aster.
And somehow Vanessa’s diary had ended up behind Claire’s baby clothes.
“This wasn’t hidden from me,” Claire whispered.
Maya looked at her.
“What?”
Claire closed the diary.
“It was hidden for me.”
The room went silent.
Adrian’s phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then his expression changed.
“Understood.”
He ended the call.
“What?” Claire asked.
“That was someone I have checking Daniel.”
Claire waited.
“Daniel left Manhattan twenty minutes ago.”
“Where is he going?”
“North.”
Maya stood.
“Here?”
May you like
Adrian nodded.
“He’s coming for Claire.”
