Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Elena contacted Mara three days later.
Not by phone.
She left a note at the coffee shop where Mara had met Tessa.
Table twelve. 4:30. Come alone.
Mara almost didn't go.
Tessa told her not to.
“Absolutely not.”
“I need answers.”
“You need a lawyer.”
“I already have one.”
“Then let the lawyer investigate.”
Mara looked at her.
“Tessa, someone put three million dollars in an account with my name on it.”
Tessa sighed.
“Fine. But I'm sitting outside.”
Mara agreed.
Elena arrived at 4:27.
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was tied back.
No makeup.
No designer clothes.
She looked less like the woman from Dominic's kitchen and more like someone who hadn't slept in days.
She sat down.
“I owe you an apology.”
“Yes.”
“I knew how it looked.”
“You knew exactly how it looked.”
“I did.”
Mara crossed her arms.
“Then explain.”
Elena looked around.
“I was hired to investigate irregularities in Calder Holdings.”
“By Dominic?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Dominic suspected someone was stealing from the company.”
Mara frowned.
“How much?”
“Almost twelve million dollars.”
She felt cold.
“And he suspected you?”
“No.”
“He suspected me?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Elena lowered her voice.
“His sister.”
Mara stared.
“Isabella?”
Elena nodded.
Isabella Calder had always been charming.
Elegant.
Warm.
She had sent Mara flowers every birthday.
She had called her “family.”
She had helped plan Mara's wedding.
Mara couldn't imagine it.
“Elena, Isabella runs the charitable foundation.”
“She also has access to multiple Calder accounts.”
“But why?”
“Because someone has been moving money through shell companies.”
Mara leaned forward.
“And my name?”
Elena hesitated.
“They needed a person who looked legitimate.”
“Me.”
“Yes.”
Mara looked away.
“What about Dominic?”
“He found out.”
“And then?”
“He hired me.”
“And the affair?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I let him believe I was interested.”
Mara stared at her.
“You used seduction to investigate my husband?”
“Yes.”
“That is the most insane sentence I've ever heard.”
“I know.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
Elena looked down.
“Yes.”
The answer still hurt.
Even though Mara knew the truth was more complicated.
“Why the sweatshirt?”
Elena almost smiled.
“He gave it to me because I was freezing.”
Mara looked at her.
“That was mine.”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“He told me.”
Mara's throat tightened.
“Did he ever talk about me?”
“All the time.”
She looked away.
“He loved you.”
Mara laughed bitterly.
“People don't cheat on people they love.”
“Sometimes they do.”
“That's not an excuse.”
“No.”
Elena reached into her bag.
She pulled out a flash drive.
“This is what I found.”
Mara didn't touch it.
“What is it?”
“Copies of financial transfers.”
“From whom?”
“Isabella.”
“To whom?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Mara stared.
“Then why give it to me?”
“Because someone is coming for me.”
“What?”
Elena looked terrified.
“I found something else.”
“What?”
“Your wedding.”
Mara frowned.
“My wedding?”
“Someone paid for part of it.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Check the invoices.”
Elena stood.
“Look at the florist.”
“The florist?”
“Your wedding flowers were paid through a company called Northstar Events.”
Mara felt a strange chill.
Northstar.
She knew that name.
It had appeared on one of Dominic's business documents years ago.
“What is Northstar?”
Elena shook her head.
“That's what I don't know.”
She started walking away.
Mara grabbed her arm.
“One more question.”
Elena stopped.
“Why did you choose me?”
Elena looked at her.
“Because Dominic wouldn't listen to anyone else.”
“To what?”
“The truth.”
Elena walked away.
Mara returned home and opened the old wedding album.
She found the florist invoice.
Northstar Events.
The payment had been made anonymously.
Nine years ago.
Three months before her wedding.
Mara called Dominic.
He answered.
“I found Northstar.”
Silence.
Then:
“Where did you get that name?”
“Elena.”
His voice changed.
“Mara, listen to me carefully.”
“I am.”
“Do not investigate Northstar yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because that company doesn't exist anymore.”
“Who owned it?”
Dominic didn't answer.
“Dominic?”
He whispered:
“My father.”
Mara froze.
His father had been dead for eleven years.
“Why would your father pay for our wedding?”
Dominic's answer was almost inaudible.
“Because he knew something about you.”
“What?”
Another silence.
May you like
Then:
“He knew who your real father was.”
