Chapter 10 - THE MIDPOINT TRAP
The records looked perfect.
Too perfect.
Wire confirmations.
Email approvals.
My signature.
Julian’s signature.
Valenti account numbers.
Dates spanning two years.
To an outsider, the conclusion was simple.
I had secretly extracted money from my husband’s company while pretending to rescue it.
Damien arrived as investigators were leaving.
He looked at the boxes being carried away.
“Elena.”
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t know about this.”
“I believe you.”
He looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because this plan required patience.”
He flinched.
The insult landed.
Good.
My father’s attorneys began tracing the transactions.
The destination accounts existed.
But they were not ours.
The account names were almost identical to Valenti subsidiaries.
One letter different.
Sophisticated impersonation.
Someone wanted investigators to stop at the surface.
I knew who.
Eleanor.
But proving it required Vanessa.
And Vanessa remained hidden.
Charles offered her location in exchange for something.
His board seat.
I refused.
“You are bargaining with evidence in a criminal case.”
“I am protecting my family.”
“That excuse sounds familiar.”
He looked away.
I stood.
“Either Vanessa testifies voluntarily, or I tell investigators you concealed her.”
Charles stared at me.
“You’d destroy the company.”
“No.”
I leaned toward him.
“I would destroy the people who keep confusing the company with themselves.”
That night Vanessa called me directly.
“I’ll testify.”
“Why?”
“Because Charles scares me.”
I almost laughed.
“You trusted him?”
“I ran out of options.”
“No.”
“You ran out of people willing to keep paying you.”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“I deserve that.”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
“Eleanor told me something about your mother.”
My anger cooled.
“What?”
“She said Isabella made one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“She trusted Gabriel.”
I froze.
“My father?”
Vanessa continued.
“She said Gabriel knew about Meridian Therapeutics before Isabella died.”
I looked toward the hallway where my father was speaking with lawyers.
“What exactly did Eleanor say?”
“That your father had his own reason for wanting Isabella’s file buried.”
The call ended ten seconds later.
May you like
For the first time in my life—
I looked at Gabriel Valenti and wondered whether Eleanor’s biggest lie might contain one piece of truth.
