Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind the Harbor Deal
The private boardroom overlooked the dark Atlantic Ocean.
Beyond the glass walls, gala guests continued drinking champagne beneath the chandeliers, but the celebration had changed. Conversations had become whispers. Investors checked their phones. Reporters gathered near the ballroom exits, waiting for anyone connected to Holloway Meridian to speak.
Inside the boardroom, Seraphina sat at the head of a long walnut table.
Grant stood near the door, refusing to take the chair offered to him. Delaney sat across from Seraphina, gripping her purse with both hands. Mavis and Brielle had demanded entry until Adrian informed them the meeting concerned confidential corporate matters.
Now they waited outside.
Elliot Bellamy stood beside Seraphina while three board members reviewed preliminary reports on tablets.
Adrian placed a file on the table.
“The transfers total four million eight hundred thousand dollars,” he said. “They were made over eleven months through consulting agreements connected to the Harbor Meridian hospital project.”
Grant gave a bitter laugh.
“This is ridiculous. Those were legitimate advisory fees.”
“To Cross Atlantic Strategies?” Adrian asked.
Delaney’s eyes flickered.
Grant saw it.
“So?” he said. “We hire consultants.”
“Cross Atlantic Strategies was incorporated eighteen months ago,” Adrian replied. “Its registered agent is Delaney Cross’s cousin.”
Everyone looked at her.
Delaney’s face hardened.
“My cousin operates several businesses.”
“The company has no employees, no office, and no documented work product.”
Grant placed both hands on the table.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
Seraphina watched him carefully.
“Then explain it.”
He looked at her as though the request itself were a betrayal.
“You have already decided I’m guilty.”
“I have decided to ask questions.”
“You froze our financing in front of the entire industry.”
“Because you announced financing that did not exist.”
“I was negotiating.”
“You were lying.”
Grant’s palm struck the table.
The sound made Delaney jump.
“You do not get to sit there and judge me after hiding who you were for seven years.”
Seraphina remained still.
“I hid my wealth. You hid financial transfers.”
“I built Holloway Meridian from nothing.”
“No. Your father built it. You expanded it using Bellamy capital.”
Grant looked toward Elliot.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it? You never approved of me.”
Elliot’s expression was controlled.
“I approved of the man my niece believed you could become.”
Grant turned back toward Seraphina.
“I worked every day for this family while you played anonymous benefactor.”
“You worked for recognition.”
“And what did you work for?”
“Impact.”
Grant laughed without humor.
“You always did think you were morally superior.”
“No. I thought we were partners.”
Something shifted in his face, but he buried it quickly.
Adrian continued.
“Two of the transfers were authorized using Mr. Holloway’s credentials. One was approved from Ms. Cross’s office computer while Mr. Holloway was attending a conference in Boston.”
Grant looked at Delaney.
She avoided his eyes.
“Delaney?”
She said nothing.
“Look at me.”
Slowly, she did.
“You told me compliance had cleared those payments,” he said.
“You signed them.”
“Because you said the consultants were necessary to secure zoning approval.”
“They were.”
“Where are the reports?”
Her mouth tightened.
“I don’t know.”
Grant stared at her.
For the first time that evening, Seraphina saw genuine confusion in him.
Perhaps he had approved corrupt transfers.
Perhaps he had been reckless, not informed.
Neither possibility excused him.
But they were different.
Seraphina leaned forward.
“Grant, did you know Cross Atlantic Strategies was connected to Delaney?”
He looked at Delaney again.
“No.”
She shifted in her seat.
Adrian spoke quietly.
“Ms. Cross, Bellamy Holdings has retained outside counsel. You may wish to contact an attorney.”
Delaney rose.
“I’m leaving.”
Two security officers appeared outside the glass doors.
“You are free to leave,” Adrian said. “Your company devices will remain here under the preservation terms in your employment agreement.”
Delaney reached for her phone.
Adrian extended his hand.
“That includes the phone.”
“You cannot take my personal property.”
“It belongs to Holloway Meridian.”
She looked at Grant.
“Tell him.”
Grant stared at her as though he had never seen her before.
“Give him the phone.”
Her expression changed.
“So that’s it?”
“What did you do?”
Delaney gave a quiet, disbelieving laugh.
“You really want to ask that now?”
“Yes.”
“In front of your wife?”
Seraphina felt a knot tighten in her stomach.
Grant’s face went rigid.
“Do not make this personal.”
“It became personal when you started coming to my apartment.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Grant closed his eyes.
The confirmation should not have surprised Seraphina.
Still, hearing it spoken aloud felt like losing air.
Elliot moved closer to her, but she lifted one hand to show she was steady.
Delaney turned toward Seraphina.
“He told me the marriage was over.”
Grant’s eyes opened.
“Stop.”
“He said you lived separate lives. He said you were emotionally unstable and refused to attend public functions.”
Seraphina looked at Grant.
“Did you?”
He did not answer.
Delaney laughed bitterly.
“He said he planned to divorce you after Bellamy approved the new financing.”
Grant’s face lost color.
“Shut up.”
“Why? You were going to give me the waterfront house once the deal closed.”
Mavis’s voice came sharply from outside.
“What waterfront house?”
She pushed through the door before security could stop her.
Brielle followed.
Mavis pointed at Grant.
“What is she talking about?”
“This is confidential,” Adrian said.
“I am his mother.”
“And therefore not automatically entitled to corporate information.”
Mavis ignored him.
“You bought Delaney a house?”
Grant ran one hand through his hair.
“No.”
Delaney crossed her arms.
“You put a deposit on it.”
“With company money?” Seraphina asked.
“No,” Grant said quickly.
Delaney looked away.
That was answer enough.
Adrian made a note.
Grant turned on her.
“You told me the payment came from my executive distribution.”
“It was supposed to be replaced after the funding round.”
“Replaced by whom?”
Delaney’s silence became heavier.
Grant’s anger sharpened into panic.
“By whom?”
She lowered her voice.
“Your mother.”
Mavis went still.
Brielle looked between them.
Grant stared at Mavis.
“What did you do?”
Mavis lifted her chin.
“I protected this family.”
“With stolen money?”
“It was not stolen.”
Adrian’s gaze became cold.
“Explain.”
Mavis stepped into the room with the posture of a woman accustomed to controlling every conversation.
“The Harbor project was delayed. Delaney informed me certain discretionary payments could secure support from local intermediaries.”
Seraphina felt her stomach turn.
“You authorized bribes?”
“They were consulting fees.”
“To shell companies?”
Mavis’s expression flickered.
“I did not know the technical structure.”
“But you knew the money was being hidden.”
“I knew Grant’s company needed the hospital project.”
Grant looked devastated.
“You used my approval.”
Mavis faced him.
“You would have hesitated.”
“I signed documents Delaney placed in front of me because she said legal had reviewed them.”
“And you should have been more careful,” Mavis said. “But do not stand there acting innocent. Everything I did was to preserve your future.”
“You risked prison to preserve my reputation?”
“To preserve our name.”
Grant took a step back.
Seraphina watched the Holloway family turn against itself.
For years, Mavis had manipulated Grant through praise and fear. She told him he was destined for greatness, then reminded him that failure would disgrace generations. Grant had responded by chasing larger deals, greater publicity, and increasingly dangerous shortcuts.
It did not excuse his choices.
But it explained how ambition had become desperation.
Brielle sank into a chair.
“What happens now?”
Adrian answered.
“The audit will determine the scope. If bribery, fraud, or misappropriation occurred, the appropriate authorities will be notified.”
Mavis glared at Seraphina.
“This is your fault.”
Grant looked toward his mother in disbelief.
Mavis continued.
“If she had supported her husband openly instead of hiding behind lawyers, none of this would have happened.”
Seraphina rose.
“No, Mavis. You do not get to place this at my feet.”
“You had the power to save us.”
“I did save you. Again and again.”
“And now you will destroy your husband because your feelings were hurt?”
“My feelings did not create shell companies.”
“You froze the company because Grant took another woman to dinner.”
Seraphina walked slowly around the table.
“No. I froze the company because Grant misrepresented financing, ignored compliance, and treated Bellamy capital as though it belonged to him.”
She stopped in front of Mavis.
“But I came to the gala because he took another woman in my place.”
Mavis’s face tightened.
“At least you admit this is revenge.”
“This is consequence.”
The distinction settled over the room.
Grant lowered his head.
Delaney moved toward the door.
One security officer held out a property receipt.
“Your devices.”
She placed the phone and tablet on the table.
As she did, a message appeared on the phone screen.
Delete the second account before midnight.
Adrian saw it.
So did Seraphina.
“Who sent that?” Seraphina asked.
Delaney grabbed for the phone, but the officer moved it away.
Grant stepped closer.
The sender’s name showed only two initials.
BH.
Brielle whispered, “Those are my initials.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Her face drained white.
“No. I didn’t send that.”
Mavis looked sharply at her daughter.
Brielle stood.
“I swear.”
Adrian picked up the phone without opening the message.
“We will preserve it for forensic review.”
Brielle’s breathing quickened.
“Someone is framing me.”
Grant looked at his sister.
“Who has access to your accounts?”
“My assistant. My accountant. The nonprofit’s finance manager.”
Seraphina remembered the Bellamy Foundation grants.
Two million dollars over two years had gone to Brielle’s youth arts organization.
“Adrian,” she said, “add the nonprofit to the audit.”
Brielle’s eyes widened.
“No.”
“If your name is being used, the review will clear you.”
“You don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand?”
Brielle looked at Mavis.
Mavis’s expression was no longer angry.
It was terrified.
Grant saw it too.
“Mother?”
Mavis said nothing.
Brielle began to cry.
“You promised no one would find out.”
Grant’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Find out what?”
Brielle pressed both hands over her mouth.
Mavis moved toward her.
“Do not say another word.”
Seraphina stepped between them.
“Brielle, what happened to the foundation money?”
Tears spilled down Brielle’s face.
“I didn’t want to do it.”
“Do what?”
“Mother said it was temporary.”
Grant grabbed the back of a chair.
Brielle looked at her brother.
“She moved the grant money into Holloway Meridian.”
The room went silent.
Seraphina felt the meaning unfold immediately.
Bellamy Foundation money intended for underprivileged children had been diverted to Grant’s company.
Mavis had not merely risked investors’ capital.
She had stolen from a charity.
Grant stared at his mother.
“You used children’s scholarship money to cover our losses?”
Mavis drew herself upright.
“I protected what belongs to this family.”
“No,” Seraphina said. “You protected an image.”
Mavis looked at her with pure hatred.
“You will regret turning against us.”
Seraphina met her gaze.
“I regret not doing it sooner.”
Adrian’s phone rang.
He listened for several seconds, then ended the call.
“The forensic team attempted to access Holloway Meridian’s internal server,” he said. “Someone initiated a remote deletion ten minutes ago.”
Grant looked toward Delaney.
She shook her head.
“I’ve been in this room.”
Adrian turned to security.
“Lock down the building. No one leaves until we identify the source.”
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire museum went dark.
A scream rose from the ballroom.
Emergency lights glowed red along the walls.
In the confusion, the glass door to the boardroom opened.
Seraphina heard running footsteps.
May you like
By the time the backup power returned, Delaney’s chair was empty.
And the phone containing the message had disappeared with her.
