Chapter 3 - The Wife in Rome
By the morning of her supposed departure, Lillian had learned how easily an entire life could become a performance.
Jason drove her to the airport in a black sedan. He held her hand during the journey and spoke about missing her. At the terminal, he carried her suitcase to the private-lounge entrance and kissed her cheek.
“Call me when you land.”
“I will.”
“And stay longer if the conference is useful.”
“You seem eager to be alone.”
He laughed.
“I am trying to be supportive.”
Lillian adjusted the collar of his coat.
“You always are.”
Jason watched until she passed through the security entrance.
He did not know that Nathan had arranged for her to leave through a private service corridor fifteen minutes later.
The woman who boarded the flight to Rome wore Lillian’s cream coat and carried an identical suitcase. She was a foundation employee with the same general height and build, traveling legitimately to the conference.
Lillian returned to Manhattan in the back of a delivery van.
For the next five days, she lived in a quiet apartment owned by the Mercer Foundation. From there, she and Ava watched Jason dismantle what he believed was an unprotected empire.
Every evening, Lillian recorded short videos against a projection of Rome. She posted photographs taken during earlier trips and scheduled messages to appear throughout the day.
Jason never asked to speak by video.
He preferred texts.
On Tuesday, he used forged board minutes to authorize Northstar’s transfer.
On Wednesday, he moved company funds into an account used for the wedding.
On Thursday, Carol purchased a penthouse in her own name, using money that had passed through one of the shell companies.
On Friday morning, Jason attempted to transfer three million dollars.
Ava had arranged for the transaction to appear successful.
The money moved out of the account Jason monitored.
It never reached Northstar.
Instead, it entered a protected holding account under court supervision while investigators traced every digital instruction connected to the receiving bank.
At 10:06 that morning, Ava’s computer sounded an alert.
“We have a beneficiary.”
Lillian moved beside her.
“Who?”
Ava displayed the Northstar registration documents.
The company had been formed in Delaware by an attorney named Malcolm Voss.
Lillian recognized the name.
Malcolm had served as her father’s private counsel until a year before his death.
He had disappeared after being accused of stealing from a client. Charges were never filed because the client declined to cooperate.
“My father trusted him,” Lillian said.
Nathan read the company history.
“Northstar was formed twenty-two years ago.”
“That is impossible. Jason did not know my family then.”
“Perhaps Northstar was never Jason’s company.”
Ava opened a second record.
The controlling beneficiary was hidden behind another trust, but one historical address remained attached to the file.
It belonged to an abandoned residence in Connecticut.
Lillian knew the house.
She had spent the first eight years of her life there.
“My father sold that property after my mother died.”
Nathan looked up.
“I thought your mother died in Europe.”
“She did.”
“When?”
“Twenty-two years ago.”
The room fell silent.
Ava checked the formation date again.
Northstar Legacy Holdings had been registered nine days after the funeral.
Lillian sat down.
“What does this have to do with Jason?”
“We cannot know until we find the original document mentioned in the ledger,” Nathan said.
Ava searched recent financial traffic.
“There was a courier delivery to the Grand Crest Hotel yesterday. It was received by Carol Bennett.”
Lillian looked at her.
“The wedding venue.”
“Yes.”
“Can we find out what was delivered?”
Nathan shook his head.
“Not without alerting them.”
Lillian walked toward the window.
Across the street, a giant screen displayed an advertisement for Mercer Group’s newest hotel development. Jason appeared in the corner beside the words Vision, Legacy, Trust.
“Carol has the missing document,” Lillian said.
“Possibly.”
“She may not know what it is.”
“Or she knows exactly what it is,” Ava replied.
Lillian’s phone rang.
Jason.
Everyone stopped speaking.
She answered and placed the call on speaker.
“Hello.”
Jason’s voice was warm.
“How is Rome?”
“Beautiful.”
“I saw your photograph.”
“Did you?”
“You looked happy.”
Lillian watched traffic move below the window.
“I am learning to be.”
A pause followed.
“Is everything all right?”
“Why would you ask?”
“You sound different.”
“I am standing in an airport lounge. It is noisy.”
“Are you leaving?”
“The foundation arranged a short trip outside the city.”
Jason’s tone sharpened slightly.
“Where?”
“I will send photographs.”
“You did not mention another trip.”
“You told me to stay longer if the conference was useful.”
“Yes, but I expected you to discuss it with me.”
Lillian almost laughed.
Jason had forged her signature, pledged her inheritance, and secretly fathered a daughter, yet he felt entitled to approve her movements.
“I will call tomorrow,” she said.
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
“The bank may contact you about routine account verification.”
Her eyes met Ava’s.
“What verification?”
“Nothing important. A transfer connected to the new hotel development.”
“How much?”
Jason hesitated.
“Three million.”
“That sounds important.”
“It is temporary. You do not need to worry.”
Lillian allowed silence to stretch between them.
Jason filled it.
“I have handled our finances for years.”
“Yes,” she said. “You have.”
His voice softened again.
“Trust me.”
Lillian looked at the black ledger on the table.
“I did.”
Then she ended the call.
Jason called back twice.
She did not answer.
That afternoon, Nathan met secretly with three independent members of the Mercer Group board. Lillian showed them the forged documents, the diverted funds, and the recording from Jason’s safe.
Two members agreed to support his immediate suspension.
The third, Harold Crane, remained silent.
Harold had been her father’s closest business partner and Jason’s strongest defender.
“What are you not telling me?” Lillian asked.
Harold looked older than she remembered.
“There are matters concerning the original Mercer trust that your father did not share with you.”
“Northstar?”
His face revealed the answer before he spoke.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“It is receiving money from my husband.”
Harold stood and went to the conference-room door.
He checked the hallway before returning.
“You must stop the transfer.”
“We intercepted it.”
“That will not stop them.”
“Who are they?”
Harold lowered his voice.
“Your father created Northstar after your mother’s death. He believed someone would eventually come for the controlling shares.”
“Who?”
“He never told me.”
“Then what did he place inside Northstar?”
Harold looked at the black ledger.
“The truth about how Mercer Group was built.”
Lillian waited.
Harold’s hands trembled.
“Your father did not inherit the company as you were told. He took control during a private settlement. The original agreement was sealed and divided into two copies.”
“One is missing.”
Harold nodded.
“Your father kept his copy inside the ledger. The other belonged to the person who surrendered control.”
“Who was that?”
“I do not know.”
Lillian did not believe him.
Harold looked toward Nathan.
“If Jason gives the original document to Northstar, they may be able to challenge Lillian’s ownership of the entire company.”
“Why would Jason do that?” Nathan asked.
“Because someone promised him the chief executive position after Lillian was removed.”
Lillian felt the pieces connect.
The wedding was more than a personal betrayal.
Jason had not merely planned to leave her for Carol.
He had planned to exchange her family’s company for power.
“Where will the document be transferred?” she asked.
Harold answered reluctantly.
“Northstar never accepts direct deliveries. There will be an intermediary.”
“Carol.”
“Perhaps.”
Lillian closed the ledger.
“Then we allow the wedding to happen.”
Nathan stared at her.
“That puts the document at risk.”
“It also puts every person involved in one building.”
She looked at the paused image on Ava’s screen: Jason at the ballroom with Carol standing beside him.
“We will not interrupt their plan.”
Lillian’s voice became colder.
“We will complete it for them.”
The following day, Carol received a sealed package at the Grand Crest Hotel.
Security footage showed her carrying it into a private bridal suite.
An hour later, she left without it.
That evening, Noah Carter arrived at the same suite.
May you like
He remained inside for eleven minutes.
When he emerged, he was holding nothing.
