Chapter 3 - The Woman Using My Name
Thirty-seven minutes earlier, I had been standing at the altar.
There were two hundred witnesses.
Yet somewhere in Manhattan, someone had apparently walked into a bank and pretended to be me.
The investigator introduced himself as Detective Adrian Cole of the Financial Crimes Task Force.
Rebecca immediately requested a private room.
I refused.
“Anything involving my company gets said in front of me.”
“It should not be said in front of two hundred guests,” Alexander murmured.
He was right.
I hated that.
Ten minutes later, the wedding party had been moved into the bridal suite upstairs.
My father came.
My mother came despite everyone’s objections.
Vanessa came.
Ethan tried to leave.
Detective Cole asked him to stay.
Alexander joined us because he had already received documents connected to the attempted acquisition.
Rebecca closed the door.
I looked around the room.
Hours earlier, my bridesmaids had helped me put on my veil here.
Now my fiancé stood across from me beside my pregnant sister while a financial-crimes detective spread documents across the makeup table.
Life had a cruel sense of staging.
Cole showed us a security photograph.
A woman in sunglasses and a beige coat stood inside a private banking office.
Dark hair.
Similar height.
Similar build.
Not me.
“Can we get a clearer image?” I asked.
“This was pulled from lobby footage. More is coming.”
“How did she access my account?”
“Identification documents.”
“Fake?”
“Good enough to pass initial review.”
Rebecca frowned.
“A twelve-million-dollar transfer cannot be approved based solely on lobby identification.”
Cole nodded.
“It wasn't.”
He placed another document down.
“Someone with internal authorization had already prepared the transaction.”
Alexander asked, “At the bank?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“We're investigating.”
My mother looked sick.
“Malcolm.”
Everyone turned.
Dad stared at her.
“What about him?”
She whispered, “He has connections at Harrison.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Harrison Capital?”
Mom nodded.
The acquisition company.
The debt.
The attempted transfer.
Everything circled the same man.
I sat down.
“Start at the beginning.”
Mom looked at me.
“You don't want to hear this.”
“Today has permanently destroyed my ability to fear bad news.”
She winced.
Then she began.
Thirty-one years earlier, before she met my father, Linda Mercer worked as an executive assistant at Pierce Development.
Malcolm Pierce was the young founder.
Brilliant.
Aggressive.
Charming.
They became involved.
I looked at Dad.
His face didn't move.
Mom continued.
The relationship ended before she met him.
Years later, Malcolm contacted her again with an investment opportunity.
She put in family savings without telling Dad.
The fund performed well.
For a while.
Then it collapsed.
Instead of confessing, Mom borrowed more money to recover the loss.
Malcolm lent it.
Then he lent more.
Then interest accumulated.
Eventually, Mom owed him millions.
“Why didn't you tell us?” Vanessa asked.
Mom looked at her.
“Because I thought I could fix it.”
“With Claire’s company?”
Mom closed her eyes.
“Malcolm knew Mercer House was growing.”
My business had recently been valued at nearly thirty million dollars.
Suddenly the math became obvious.
My mother’s debt was insignificant compared with what he stood to gain.
“He offered to erase what you owed,” I said.
“If I convinced you to sell.”
“But I said no.”
“You wouldn't even discuss it.”
“I didn't know there was a discussion!”
She started crying.
“I panicked.”
“So you went to Ethan.”
She nodded.
Ethan looked furious.
“You're making it sound like I planned all of this.”
Mom turned on him.
“You did plan it.”
“You came to me.”
“And you demanded six hundred thousand dollars.”
“Because I was taking a risk.”
Vanessa looked as though she might be sick.
“What risk?”
Ethan glanced at her.
That was another mistake.
She saw it.
“So Claire was the deal,” Vanessa said slowly, “and I was what?”
“No.”
“You slept with me after Mom approached you.”
Ethan didn't answer.
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“Oh my God.”
I finally understood the timing.
The affair hadn't created the conspiracy.
The conspiracy had created the opportunity for the affair.
Ethan had known my mother was desperate.
He had known she wanted control over me.
He had known Vanessa was vulnerable.
And he had exploited all three of us.
“Why Vanessa?” I asked.
His silence lasted too long.
“Ethan.”
His expression hardened.
“You weren't around.”
That was his answer.
Not remorse.
Not love.
Convenience.
Vanessa turned away.
I felt something strange then.
Not sympathy exactly.
But the first fracture in my anger toward her.
She had betrayed me.
That remained true.
But she had also fallen for a man who treated women like doors he could open when useful.
Detective Cole brought us back.
“The woman at the bank arrived at 1:25.”
My ceremony began at two.
“Who knew I'd be here?” I asked.
Everyone.
It was my wedding.
Cole nodded.
“Which made today ideal. You had hundreds of witnesses proving you were somewhere else.”
Rebecca understood first.
“They wanted the transfer discovered.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“If the goal were simply theft, impersonating you during your wedding is unnecessarily risky. But if someone wanted to create confusion around authority…”
Alexander finished her thought.
“They could claim Claire had delegated access.”
Cole nodded.
“Or claim internal financial mismanagement.”
I stared at him.
“They're trying to destroy my credibility.”
Rebecca looked at the acquisition agreement.
“If Mercer House becomes tied up in a criminal investigation, creditors get nervous. Investors get nervous. Valuation drops.”
Alexander’s expression darkened.
“And distressed assets become cheaper.”
Malcolm Pierce wasn't merely trying to buy my company.
He was trying to damage it first.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down.
Forty-seven missed calls.
News alerts.
Messages.
Someone had posted video from the ballroom.
Of course they had.
The clip already had hundreds of thousands of views.
My sister’s declaration.
My proposal to Alexander.
All of it.
I closed the screen.
“I need to protect the company.”
Rebecca nodded.
“We'll issue a statement.”
“No details about Vanessa.”
My sister looked at me.
Surprised.
“The affair is already public,” I said. “The pregnancy doesn't need to become entertainment.”
Her eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
“Don't.”
She dropped her gaze.
Not forgiveness.
Not yet.
Alexander approached the window.
“There's another problem.”
“What?”
“If Malcolm is willing to forge signatures and impersonate you, he may have access to someone inside Mercer House.”
My chest tightened.
Rebecca nodded.
“He would need company financial information.”
“Who has access?”
“My CFO. Finance director. Controller. Me.”
“And Ethan?” Cole asked.
I hesitated.
“Some.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“How much?”
“I let him help organize household financial documents.”
She closed her eyes.
“Claire.”
“I know.”
Ethan scoffed.
“I didn't steal her passwords.”
Cole looked at him.
“Nobody said passwords.”
Ethan realized what he had done.
Again.
Detective Cole’s tone remained neutral.
“Mr. Brooks, I'd like to speak with you separately.”
“No.”
“You may decline.”
“Good.”
“But I strongly recommend that you contact an attorney.”
Ethan’s confidence finally broke.
He reached for his phone.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Call the lawyer before checking whether I'm okay.”
He stared at her.
“You chose to walk into that ceremony.”
“Because you promised me you would tell Claire before she said her vows.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“He promised.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
She turned toward Ethan.
“You said you were going to confess first.”
He looked away.
“You never intended to.”
“No.”
“You wanted me to walk in there.”
Silence.
Vanessa’s face changed.
The truth arrived slowly.
“You wanted the wedding destroyed publicly.”
Ethan didn't answer.
Alexander turned from the window.
“Why?”
Rebecca looked at the viral video on my phone.
Then at the documents.
“Oh.”
“What?” I asked.
She sat down beside me.
“Public scandal lowers confidence faster than private litigation.”
My engagement.
My company.
My wedding.
My sister.
All assets in somebody else’s strategy.
I stared at Ethan.
“Malcolm told you to make sure the ceremony failed.”
His mouth tightened.
Detective Cole watched him carefully.
Finally Ethan said, “You don't understand Malcolm Pierce.”
Alexander’s voice went cold.
“I understand him better than you think.”
Everyone turned.
He walked back toward us.
“My father did business with Malcolm twenty years ago.”
Mom stared.
“Your father?”
Alexander nodded.
“Malcolm tried to destroy Vale Meridian before it existed.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“My father trusted him.”
Alexander’s face gave nothing away.
“He didn't survive the consequences.”
The room went quiet.
I had known Alexander’s father died when Alexander was young.
I had never known how.
Before I could ask, Rebecca’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
“My office.”
She answered.
“Rebecca Sloan.”
Her expression changed almost immediately.
“What?”
She stood.
“Send it now.”
She ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Someone accessed Mercer House’s internal server.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did they take?”
“We don't know yet.”
Her phone buzzed.
An email arrived.
She opened an attachment.
A list of downloaded directories appeared.
Payroll.
Investor files.
Contracts.
Client records.
Then Rebecca froze.
“What?”
She turned the phone toward me.
One folder had been opened repeatedly.
PRIVATE — CM PERSONAL.
I recognized it.
“What is that?” Alexander asked.
“My grandfather's estate documents.”
Rebecca scrolled.
“They downloaded everything.”
I stood.
There was one file inside that folder almost nobody knew existed.
Grandpa had left me a sealed letter with instructions that I open it only if someone ever tried to force me out of my company.
At the time, I had assumed it was sentimental.
I had never opened it.
“What are you thinking?” Alexander asked.
“The letter.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“What letter?”
I grabbed my bag.
“The original isn't on the server.”
“Where is it?”
“At my office.”
Alexander picked up his coat.
“Then we're going.”
Detective Cole blocked the door.
“Not without security.”
Twenty minutes later, Alexander, Rebecca, Cole, and I rode downtown in Alexander’s car.
My wedding dress filled half the back seat.
I stared at it.
It seemed ridiculous now.
Alexander noticed.
“You can change first.”
“No.”
A tiny smile touched his mouth.
“You intend to investigate corporate espionage in a wedding gown?”
“I paid six thousand dollars for this dress. It's getting the full day.”
For the first time since the ceremony, he laughed.
Just once.
It startled me.
And for a second, despite everything, I remembered my absurd proposal.
How about you marry me instead?
Heat rose to my face.
Alexander looked out the window.
“You regret asking?”
I stared at him.
“You heard my thoughts?”
“No. Your expression isn't subtle.”
“I was angry.”
“I know.”
“And humiliated.”
“I know.”
“And temporarily insane.”
“Possibly.”
I smiled despite myself.
Then he said, “I didn't say no.”
I looked at him.
Before I could answer, the car stopped outside Mercer House headquarters.
The front doors were unlocked.
They should not have been.
Security lights were off.
Detective Cole drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
We entered.
The lobby was empty.
The elevator showed the twenty-third floor.
My floor.
Someone was upstairs.
We took the emergency stairs as far as twelve before security joined us.
Minutes later, we reached my office.
The door stood open.
My desk drawers had been emptied.
The wall safe was exposed.
Open.
I ran toward it.
“Claire, wait.”
Too late.
The sealed envelope was gone.
In its place was a single photograph.
My grandfather.
Thirty years younger.
Standing beside Malcolm Pierce.
And beside them was a third man.
Alexander’s father.
On the back, someone had written one sentence:
ASK ALEXANDER WHO REALLY OWNS MERCER HOUSE.
I turned.
Alexander had gone completely still.
“Alexander?”
He stared at the photograph.
Then at me.
He opened his mouth.
Before he could speak, the office door slammed shut behind us.
The lock clicked.
And a voice came through the intercom.
May you like
“Claire Mercer,” Malcolm Pierce said.
“I think it's time you learned why your grandfather built that company for you.”
