Chapter 4 - The Money Behind the Marriage
By Monday morning, Ben had called me seventeen times.
I didn't answer.
Rebecca advised me to communicate through counsel until we understood the financial exposure.
I agreed.
At nine, Northline's board received an emergency notice requesting an independent review of executive expenses.
At ten, Ben appeared at Kendall Ridge.
He came through reception without an appointment.
My assistant called me.
"Laura, Benjamin Kendall is here."
"Tell him I'm unavailable."
"He says it's urgent."
"Then he can make an appointment."
A minute later, Rebecca walked into my office.
"He's downstairs arguing with security."
I closed my laptop.
"Let him come up."
Ben entered looking furious.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Good morning."
"You froze my access to several investment reports."
"I didn't. The auditors requested them."
"You're trying to interfere with my company."
"Your company has shareholders, Ben. They have a right to know where their money is going."
He stared at Rebecca.
"Can we speak privately?"
"No," I said.
He turned back toward me.
"Those payments were legitimate."
"Then provide the contracts."
"I don't have them with me."
"Neither do your accountants."
His expression tightened.
"You've been planning this."
"I've been reviewing financial irregularities."
"Since when?"
"Since I realized I had spent fourteen years believing that loving someone meant trusting them without asking questions."
He looked almost wounded.
"Laura, you know me."
"I used to think I did."
He stepped closer.
"Whatever happened between us, you don't get to sabotage my business."
I folded my hands.
"Your business is not my marriage."
The sentence silenced him.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Is this about Mia?"
"No."
"Because if it is, I can explain."
"Then explain the consulting company."
He hesitated.
I noticed.
"She needed help," he said finally.
"With what?"
"Her professional development."
"Forty-six thousand dollars?"
"She was working long hours. I wanted to compensate her fairly."
"Then why was the payment hidden under a consulting agreement?"
He rubbed his jaw.
"You're turning a small mistake into a scandal."
I looked at him.
"Six payments. Three hotel bills. Two jewelry purchases. That's not a small mistake."
His face changed.
"You've been investigating me."
"Yes."
He looked toward Rebecca.
"You're really going to let her do this?"
Rebecca answered before I could.
"Mr. Kendall, your wife isn't the person who authorized these transactions."
Ben turned sharply.
"I never said she was."
"Then I suggest you stop treating her as though she owes you an explanation."
He left without another word.
That afternoon, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.
"Mrs. Kendall?"
"Speaking."
"It's Mia Lawson."
I paused.
"What do you want?"
"I think we need to talk."
"About what?"
"Ben."
I almost hung up.
Then she said something unexpected.
"I don't think he told you everything."
I sat straighter.
"Go on."
"I didn't ask him for the money."
"Then why did you receive it?"
"He said it was a retention bonus. He told me the company had approved it."
"Do you have documentation?"
"Yes."
"Send it to the auditors."
She went quiet.
"There's something else."
I waited.
"Ben told me you were already separated."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"When?"
"Two months ago."
I stared out the window.
"He told you that?"
"He said you were living separate lives. That you were only staying together for the children."
"Did he say he had filed for divorce?"
"No."
"Did he say I knew about you?"
Another silence.
"No."
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The missing piece.
He hadn't simply been enjoying attention from a younger employee.
He had been telling her a different version of his marriage.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because I saw the divorce papers at the restaurant. And because I think he may have been using me."
"Using you for what?"
She hesitated.
"There's a meeting tomorrow. He asked me to sign something."
"What?"
"A document transferring some of the consulting payments to a new company."
I sat completely still.
"Don't sign it."
"Why?"
"Because you need an independent lawyer before you put your name on anything."
She started crying.
"I didn't know he was married like that."
I looked at the photograph of my children on my desk.
"He's married, Mia. You should have known that much."
"I know."
"Then send everything to Rebecca."
After the call, I contacted Daniel.
Within an hour, he had located the proposed transfer documents.
They weren't ordinary consulting paperwork.
The new company was registered in Delaware.
Its listed manager was a former Northline accountant who had resigned three months earlier.
And the documents contained a clause that would make Mia responsible for several questionable expenses.
I read the clause twice.
Then I called Rebecca.
"Someone is trying to move the liability."
"That's what it looks like."
"Who benefits?"
"Whoever wants the payments to disappear from Northline's books."
That evening, Ben sent me a text.
We need to talk. Alone. No lawyers.
I didn't reply.
A second message appeared.
Please, Laura. Something is happening here that you don't understand.
For the first time, I wondered whether Ben was hiding something from me—or whether someone was hiding something from him.
Then another message arrived.
It came from Mia.
A photograph.
It showed a document on Ben's desk.
At the bottom was a signature.
Not Ben's.
Not Mia's.
It belonged to Eric.
Ben's oldest friend.
May you like
And beneath it was a handwritten note:
She still doesn't know about the original investor agreement.
