Chapter 9 - What the Phone Revealed
Jessica left the dining room before anyone stopped her.
She hurried toward the entry, but the bank representative asked her to remain available for questions concerning the holding company. She refused and walked out.
Brandon stayed.
At first, he shouted. Then he threatened to challenge the trust. Then he accused Linda of humiliating him.
Evelyn waited until he was silent.
“You are not being humiliated,” she said. “You are being informed.”
Mr. Alvarez opened the sealed folder.
Inside were payment records showing that money from Brandon’s company had been transferred into a consulting account controlled by Jessica. Some transfers occurred within hours of reimbursements from the Mercer family fund.
Brandon stared at the pages.
“She said those were vendor payments.”
“They were payments to her,” Mr. Alvarez replied.
Brandon called Jessica.
She did not answer.
He called again. Then a message appeared on his screen.
Linda watched his expression collapse.
Jessica had sent a final note saying she had done everything she could, that his mother had ruined the deal, and that she would not stay to manage the consequences.
There was no apology.
No promise.
No love.
Only distance.
For the first time, Brandon saw what everyone else had seen: Jessica had not planned a life with him. She had planned an exit through him.
But Linda did not comfort him.
His betrayal by Jessica did not erase his betrayal of Linda.
“You still signed my name,” she said.
Brandon sank into a chair.
“I thought I could fix it before you knew.”
“That is what you have always thought.”
He looked older than he had that morning.
“What happens now?”
May you like
Linda answered with the truth.
“Now you live through what you caused.”
