Chapter 5 - The Secret Investor
I spent the next morning reviewing every document connected to Northline's original financing.
At first, everything appeared ordinary.
A private investment vehicle.
A convertible loan.
Several amendments.
Then Daniel found something unusual.
"Look at the original agreement," he said.
I leaned over his desk.
The first version contained a clause granting Kendall Ridge the right to appoint an independent director if Northline breached certain financial conditions.
The clause had been removed from the final copy.
But the amendment authorizing its removal contained a signature from a person who had never been employed by Kendall Ridge.
Eric.
"How did he get access to this?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Could he have altered the agreement?"
"Possibly. But we'd need forensic verification."
I called Rebecca.
Within an hour, she arranged for a specialist to examine the digital records.
Meanwhile, Ben had begun calling members of the board.
According to Daniel, he was telling them that I was using our divorce to attack Northline.
One director, Thomas Hale, requested a meeting.
He had been with the company since its earliest days.
I agreed to meet him.
Thomas arrived carrying a leather folder.
"Laura, I don't want to get involved in your marriage."
"You won't have to."
He nodded.
"But I think you should know something. Ben has been under enormous pressure."
"From whom?"
"An outside investor."
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"Eric."
I felt the room grow colder.
Thomas opened the folder.
"Six months ago, Eric approached Ben with a proposal to consolidate several Northline properties under a new holding company. He said he had private capital ready."
"Did Ben agree?"
"Initially, no. But Eric kept pushing."
"And now?"
"Now Ben believes the deal is the only way to prevent Northline from losing two major properties."
I looked at the documents.
"Where is the funding coming from?"
"That's the problem. No one knows."
I asked Thomas to leave the folder.
After he departed, I called Daniel.
"Find every company connected to Eric."
By late afternoon, we had a list.
Three investment firms.
Two consulting businesses.
And a property management company with no employees.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Blackstone Meridian Holdings.
It was registered through a chain of shell companies.
But its beneficial owner was hidden.
I recognized the address.
It belonged to the same office building where Ben had met Mia outside regular working hours.
That evening, I went home early.
Ben was sitting in the living room.
He looked exhausted.
"Can we talk?"
I placed my bag on the table.
"About what?"
"Everything."
I sat across from him.
He looked at me for a long moment.
"I made mistakes."
"Yes."
"I shouldn't have spoken about you that way."
"No."
"I shouldn't have let Mia get so close."
I said nothing.
He leaned forward.
"But there's something you don't understand. Eric has been helping me. He's been trying to save Northline."
"From what?"
"Financial pressure."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because every time I talk about work with you, you make it sound like a board meeting."
I looked at him.
"Ben, I'm a business owner."
"I know."
"Do you?"
He lowered his eyes.
Then he said something I hadn't expected.
"I thought you wanted a quieter life."
I stared at him.
"Because I stopped telling you about my work?"
"Because you always seemed happy with the family."
"I was happy with our family. That doesn't mean I stopped being a person."
He swallowed.
"I know that now."
"No, Ben. You know it because your company is in trouble."
He didn't answer.
I stood.
"Tell me about Eric's deal."
His expression changed.
"What deal?"
"The holding company. Blackstone Meridian."
He looked genuinely confused.
Then his phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
The color drained from his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He turned the phone toward me.
It was a message from Eric.
Don't tell Laura anything about the old agreement. She's not supposed to know who really owns the controlling shares.
I looked at Ben.
He looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been waiting inside me for years.
"Ben, when you say you built Northline from nothing, do you actually know who gave you the money to begin with?"
He stared at the message.
"I thought it was a group of private investors."
"It was."
"Who?"
I held his gaze.
"Kendall Ridge."
His face went pale.
"Your company?"
"Yes."
He shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"It isn't."
"You never told me."
"You never asked."
He stood so quickly that his chair scraped the floor.
"How much?"
"Enough to keep you alive when everyone else walked away."
He stared at me as if he were seeing a stranger.
Then he whispered:
"Eric knew?"
May you like
I nodded.
And suddenly, the man Ben had trusted since college looked much more dangerous than the young secretary he had been calling adorable.
