Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Gold Dress
I called Vanessa back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Dad wanted security to locate her.
I wanted answers.
Within twenty minutes, Thomas had an address.
Vanessa wasn't at her apartment.
Neither was Adrian.
But her car remained in the underground garage.
Then she texted me.
Not words.
A location.
The Vale Meridian headquarters.
I stared at it.
"She's at Adrian's office."
Dad frowned.
"Or someone wants you to think she is."
He was right.
So we didn't go alone.
Thomas arranged private security and contacted the appropriate authorities about the suspected forged documents. By the time we reached Vale Meridian, the building was nearly empty.
The executive floor lights were on.
The elevator opened.
Vanessa stood outside Adrian's office.
Still wearing the gold dress.
Her mascara had run.
"Eleanor."
"Where's Adrian?"
"Gone."
"What happened?"
"He came to my apartment."
She looked toward Dad.
"Who is that?"
"My father."
Her eyes widened.
"Charles Ashford?"
That answered one question.
She knew exactly who he was.
"You knew."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"Since when?"
"Before your wedding."
Dad stepped forward.
"What did Daniel Cross tell you?"
Vanessa looked shocked.
"How do you know Daniel?"
"We found the storage unit."
Her face collapsed.
"Oh God."
I felt no sympathy.
Not yet.
"You have thirty seconds to start talking."
Vanessa looked at me.
"Adrian knew who you were before he met you."
Even though I'd expected it, hearing the words hurt.
"He targeted me."
"At first."
At first.
Those two words were somehow worse.
"What does that mean?"
Vanessa sat down.
"Daniel found out you had left the Ashford name behind. He knew about your mother's trust. Adrian's company was failing."
"And you?"
"I worked for Daniel."
My stomach turned.
Vanessa had been there from the beginning.
"He introduced Adrian to you?"
"He arranged the charity event."
Every romantic memory became contaminated at once.
The spilled drink.
The conversation.
Adrian pretending not to know my surname.
Our first date.
The proposal.
"Why marry me?"
"Access."
"To my trust?"
"That was the plan."
Dad's jaw tightened.
Vanessa continued.
"But something changed."
I laughed bitterly.
"Let me guess. He fell in love with me."
"I think he did."
"Don't."
"I'm not defending him."
"You stood there smiling tonight."
Shame flickered across her face.
"I hated you."
"For what?"
"For having everything."
"You slept with my husband because you hated my father?"
"No."
She looked down at her stomach.
"I slept with him because I thought he'd choose me."
The honesty surprised me.
Vanessa reached into her purse and removed a flash drive.
"Adrian came to my apartment because of this."
"What is it?"
"Daniel's records."
"Why do you have them?"
"Because Daniel didn't trust Adrian."
Neither did I.
Vanessa handed it to me.
"There's more."
"Of course there is."
"The forged authorization wasn't just about your mother's trust."
Dad stepped closer.
"What else?"
Vanessa looked at him.
"Northstar."
Dad's face changed.
"What about Northstar?"
"Adrian discovered who controlled it two years ago."
I stared at her.
That contradicted everything.
Tonight he'd appeared genuinely shocked.
"He knew?"
"He knew Northstar was connected to the Ashfords. He didn't know Eleanor knew."
"I didn't."
Vanessa nodded.
"He thought Charles was secretly supporting him because Eleanor was married to him."
Dad looked disgusted.
"So he exploited it."
"He expanded aggressively because he believed you would never allow your daughter's husband's company to fail."
Dad gave a humorless laugh.
"That assumption aged poorly."
Vanessa almost smiled.
Almost.
Then her expression darkened.
"Daniel had another plan. If Adrian could establish enough contractual rights through Eleanor, they thought they could force Northstar into continuing support even after a divorce."
Page eleven.
My signature.
The forged authorization.
Everything connected.
"What happens if I sign the divorce agreement?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"You validate the earlier documents."
Dad swore.
"That's why tonight mattered."
"Yes."
"Why the public humiliation?" I asked.
Vanessa looked ashamed.
"Adrian wanted you desperate."
My stomach tightened.
"He wanted me to sign without reading."
"Yes."
"And you helped."
"Yes."
No excuse.
No denial.
Just yes.
I appreciated that more than I wanted to.
Thomas entered from the hallway.
"We need to leave."
"Why?"
"Someone accessed the building's document server ten minutes ago."
Vanessa stood.
"Adrian."
"Can he erase evidence?"
"Some."
Thomas looked at the flash drive.
"Not if that's genuine."
We left.
At Ashford House, Dad's forensic team examined the files.
I sat in the library until nearly two in the morning.
Then Thomas entered.
"We found something."
He connected a laptop to the large screen.
Emails appeared.
Daniel to Adrian.
Dates from before our first meeting.
Background reports on me.
Schedules.
Photographs.
Then one email stopped my breathing.
ADRIAN: Are you certain she doesn't know who Northstar belongs to?
DANIEL: She doesn't. Charles keeps her insulated.
ADRIAN: Then after the wedding, we proceed.
I read it twice.
There was no misunderstanding.
No romance.
No coincidence.
My husband had hunted me.
Then another email appeared.
Written eighteen months later.
ADRIAN: Stop pushing. Eleanor isn't part of this anymore.
DANIEL: Eleanor was always the point.
ADRIAN: I said stop.
My anger faltered.
Thomas scrolled.
ADRIAN: I'll repay everything. Leave her trust alone.
Daniel responded:
YOU DON'T GET TO GROW A CONSCIENCE AFTER CASHING THE CHECK.
I stared.
Dad did too.
"So Vanessa was right," I whispered.
"About what?"
"Something changed."
That didn't forgive Adrian.
Nothing could.
But the story was becoming more complicated.
Thomas opened another file.
A payment ledger.
Millions had moved through shell companies.
Some into Vale Meridian.
Some elsewhere.
Then Dad pointed at a name.
"Wait."
A recipient.
V.C. CONSULTING.
Vanessa Cole.
Payments beginning four years ago.
Continuing until three months ago.
"She wasn't just Daniel's employee," Dad said.
"She was being paid."
A final payment caught my attention.
Five million dollars.
Three months ago.
The exact month Vanessa said she discovered she was pregnant.
I stood.
"She lied."
Dad looked at me.
"About what?"
"I don't know yet."
My phone buzzed.
A message from Vanessa.
PLEASE DON'T TRUST THE FILES UNTIL I EXPLAIN.
Then another.
DANIEL CHANGED THEM.
Then another.
And finally a photograph.
A medical document.
At the top was Vanessa's name.
At the bottom was a date.
I zoomed in.
The pregnancy information wasn't what shocked me.
The emergency contact was.
Daniel Cross.
Relationship:
FATHER.
I looked at Dad.
Vanessa wasn't Daniel's employee.
She was his daughter.
And someone knocked on the library door.
Three slow knocks.
Thomas opened it.
Vanessa stood outside.
May you like
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her was Adrian.
