Chapter 5 - The Mistress Had a Secret
Richard insisted they speak in Eleanor’s office.
Serena almost refused.
Eleanor convinced her otherwise.
“If he’s finally frightened enough to tell the truth, I want a witness.”
At 9:00 p.m., Richard arrived alone.
He looked different.
No perfect suit.
No theatrical confidence.
He sat across from Serena and placed his phone on the table.
“I met Victor Davenport eighteen months ago.”
“Before Chloe.”
“Yes.”
Richard explained that Sentinel had encountered a financing problem during its earliest development. A major investor had withdrawn, leaving Richard desperate for capital.
Victor offered $40 million through several funds.
“Why hide it?”
“Because Victor’s history would have scared institutional investors.”
Eleanor’s expression hardened.
“So you concealed the source?”
Richard looked at the floor.
“Yes.”
Serena felt sick.
“And Chloe?”
“I met her at a dinner Victor hosted.”
“You slept with your investor’s daughter.”
Richard rubbed his face.
“Yes.”
“How innovative.”
He ignored the sarcasm.
“The affair started months later. Then Victor began asking for favors. Data access. Board information. Allocation priority in the IPO.”
“Did you give it to him?”
“Some.”
Eleanor spoke sharply.
“What exactly?”
“I need counsel before answering that.”
“You need several kinds of counsel.”
Serena leaned forward.
“And the twenty-seven million?”
Richard swallowed.
“Victor threatened to expose the financing structure. He wanted a protected position in Sentinel before the IPO.”
“So you stole from us.”
“I was going to replace it.”
Serena laughed once.
“You forged my signature to transfer twenty-seven million dollars to your mistress’s company, and your defense is that you planned to put it back?”
“I didn’t forge it.”
“Then who did?”
Richard looked at her.
“Chloe.”
Silence.
Serena did not believe him.
Not yet.
Richard opened his phone and showed them a security video from his office.
Chloe entered after midnight.
She used Richard’s credentials.
She photographed documents.
Then she removed several sheets from a locked drawer.
The date matched the first Blue Meridian transfer.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
Richard looked ashamed.
“Because those documents also prove what I concealed.”
Chloe had trapped him.
But Serena felt no sympathy.
Richard had built the trap himself.
The next morning Chloe called Serena.
Serena almost declined.
Instead she answered.
“You’ve been busy,” Chloe said.
“So have you.”
“Richard told you about my father.”
“Yes.”
Chloe laughed softly.
“He probably made himself sound like a victim.”
“No. He managed that years ago.”
Chloe was silent.
Then:
“You think I stole your husband.”
“No.”
That seemed to irritate her.
“You don’t?”
“I think Richard volunteered.”
“Careful.”
“Why? Will you take another necklace?”
Chloe’s voice sharpened.
“You still think this is about jewelry.”
“No. I think the jewelry is simply the part you understood.”
The call ended.
Two hours later, a gossip site published photographs of Serena entering a hotel with Daniel Cho, her forensic accountant.
The headline implied an affair.
It was absurd.
But social media did not require truth.
Richard called immediately.
“I’ll kill the story.”
“No.”
“Serena, people are calling you a hypocrite.”
“Let them.”
“Why aren't you fighting it?”
“Because truth ages better than gossip.”
She hung up.
That afternoon Daniel discovered another account.
This one contained $11 million.
The source was Blue Meridian.
The destination was a numbered account connected to a Cayman trust.
Beneficiary:
Richard Sterling.
Serena stared at the screen.
“So Richard lied again.”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly?”
Daniel enlarged the date.
The account had been established three weeks before Richard claimed he discovered Chloe’s manipulation.
Eleanor looked grim.
“He may not be her victim.”
Serena felt foolish for having believed even a fraction of his confession.
Then Daniel opened another document.
“But there’s a problem.”
“What?”
“The authorization didn’t come from Richard.”
“Who did it come from?”
Daniel rotated the laptop.
The electronic credentials belonged to Serena.
Again.
She had never seen the transaction.
Someone was not merely stealing her money.
Someone was constructing a trail designed to make Serena look responsible.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A distorted voice spoke three words.
“Stop digging, Serena.”
The call disconnected.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then Serena looked at Eleanor.
“Can we prove who did this?”
“Eventually.”
“Good.”
Serena picked up her coat.
“Where are you going?” Eleanor asked.
“To the board.”
“Why?”
Serena opened the door.
“Because someone wants me frightened and quiet.”
May you like
She looked back.
“They’re about to discover I’m neither.”
