Chapter 5 - A Marriage Nobody Respected
Daniel moved first.
“Bedroom. Both of you.”
Emily refused.
“This is my apartment too.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
Vanessa whispered, “Can we argue after we don’t die?”
That was surprisingly persuasive.
They moved into the bedroom while Daniel called building security.
Footsteps sounded outside.
Then a voice.
“Mr. Hale?”
Daniel relaxed slightly.
His security chief, Aaron Blake, appeared.
The outage had affected only their unit.
Someone had remotely accessed the smart-home controller.
The intruder had disappeared before Aaron reached the floor.
Nothing appeared stolen.
Until Emily checked the desk.
Marcus’s flash drive was gone.
Vanessa sat pale on the couch.
“They know.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Who?”
“Caleb. Dad. Maybe Mom.”
Emily flinched at the last word.
Patricia had been cruel through cowardice.
Emily had never imagined her mother participating in something criminal.
Vanessa rubbed her face.
“You think I’m terrible.”
“I think you slept with my fiancé.”
“I did.”
“You blamed me for it.”
“I did that too.”
“Then what exactly do you want?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“To stop being the person I became.”
Emily did not forgive her.
But she listened.
Caleb had promised Vanessa they would marry.
Instead he kept delaying.
After Emily married Daniel, Caleb became obsessed with learning Daniel’s finances.
He began meeting Robert late at night.
Vanessa had heard the phrase “before thirty-five” repeatedly.
Then she found the death certificate.
Daniel asked, “Why bring it here?”
“Because Emily is the only person in this family who ever told me the truth even when I hated her for it.”
That silenced the room.
Daniel copied the certificate.
Then he arranged a hotel room for Vanessa under security.
After she left, Emily sank onto the sofa.
“Do you regret marrying me?”
Daniel’s eyebrows rose.
“Why would I?”
“My family is apparently a corporate crime series.”
“I knew your family before the wedding.”
“You didn’t know this.”
“No.”
Emily looked at his wheelchair.
“I saw comments after our wedding.”
Daniel waited.
“People said I married you because I was damaged after Caleb.”
“And?”
“Others said you married me because you couldn’t find someone who didn’t care about the chair.”
Daniel’s expression barely changed.
“People are creative when they have no information.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes.”
His honesty surprised her.
“Still?”
“Sometimes.”
He rolled closer.
“But there’s a difference between pain and authority. Their words can hurt. They don’t get authority over us.”
Emily sat on the edge of the couch.
Daniel took her hand.
“I didn’t marry you because you were abandoned at an altar.”
“I know.”
“And you didn’t marry me despite the wheelchair.”
“I know.”
“You married me.”
She nodded.
“That’s the whole sentence.”
Three weeks later Carter Development’s lawsuit became public.
The gossip intensified.
Business publications repeated anonymous claims that Emily had stolen designs from her father.
Caleb gave an interview describing the dispute as “tragic.”
Emily nearly threw her phone.
Then came the invitation.
Carter Development’s emergency shareholder meeting.
Robert demanded Emily attend.
Daniel’s name was not included.
Emily called the corporate secretary.
“My husband is coming.”
“Mrs. Hale, the meeting is limited—”
“He is my legal adviser.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I am?”
“For Thursday.”
“Excellent.”
Thursday morning, Emily wore a cream wrap dress.
Daniel chose a dark navy suit.
As they prepared to leave, he handed her a folder.
“What’s this?”
“Insurance.”
“Against what?”
“Your father.”
She opened it.
The first page contained a corporate acquisition agreement.
The buyer’s name was hidden beneath a confidentiality cover sheet.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Daniel.”
He met her eyes.
“You asked me once how much of Calloway I control.”
Emily remembered.
“You never answered.”
“Today you’ll understand why.”
At Carter Development headquarters, executives filled the boardroom.
Conversation stopped when Emily entered behind Daniel.
Then someone laughed.
Caleb.
He stood near Robert, smiling at Daniel’s wheelchair.
“Well,” Caleb said. “Emily brought moral support.”
Another director smirked.
Robert did not.
He was staring at Daniel as though he had seen a ghost.
Daniel rolled to the empty place at the head of the table.
Caleb stepped in front of him.
“That seat is reserved.”
Daniel looked up.
“For whom?”
“The controlling shareholder.”
Daniel calmly placed the folder on the table.
“I know.”
He opened the confidentiality cover sheet.
Robert’s face turned white.
Because beneath it was the name of the company that had quietly purchased Carter Development’s outstanding debt.
HALE URBAN HOLDINGS.
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And beside the acquisition figure was a percentage.
51%.
