Chapter 2 - The Photograph Preston Wanted Destroyed
Preston moved faster than Emily expected.
His hand shot toward the photograph.
Daniel pulled it back.
The younger attorney stepped between them.
“Mr. Vale.”
“Do not touch the evidence.”
Preston stopped.
“Evidence of what?”
Daniel’s expression remained unreadable.
“That depends on what we find.”
Preston laughed.
But the sound came out strained.
“You people walk into my event with a photograph and suddenly I’m supposed to panic?”
Emily looked at him.
“This is my father’s event.”
Preston stared at her.
She had never corrected him publicly before.
That seemed to affect him more than anything Daniel had said.
Emily turned to Daniel.
“When was this taken?”
“February seventeenth.”
Her father had died on March twenty-ninth.
Six weeks later.
Emily looked at the photograph again.
“What medical facility is this?”
“Northlake Neurological Institute.”
Emily frowned.
“My father never went there.”
Daniel’s eyes remained on Preston.
“Not as a patient.”
Emily felt another chill.
“Then why was his doctor there?”
“We don’t know.”
Preston spoke immediately.
“Because doctors visit hospitals.”
Daniel looked at him.
“At eleven forty-three at night?”
Preston said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“And why were you there?”
“I invested in the facility.”
“No, you didn’t.”
The younger attorney opened another folder.
“We checked.”
Vanessa suddenly stepped backward.
Emily noticed.
“Where are you going?”
Vanessa stopped.
“I’m not part of this.”
Emily looked at the bracelet again.
“You became part of this when you walked into my house wearing my mother’s jewelry.”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“Preston gave it to me.”
Another wave of whispers spread through the ballroom.
Preston closed his eyes briefly.
Vanessa realized her mistake.
Emily almost smiled.
“You just admitted it.”
Vanessa looked furious.
“Fine.”
“He gave me a bracelet.”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“No.”
Emily’s voice remained calm.
“It proves my husband stole from me.”
Preston stepped forward.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“That bracelet belonged to my mother.”
“You hadn’t worn it in years.”
“So you gave it to your mistress?”
The ballroom went silent again.
Vanessa’s face flushed.
“I am not his mistress.”
Emily looked at her.
“Then take off my bracelet.”
Vanessa hesitated.
Emily extended her hand.
“Now.”
Something changed in the room.
Minutes earlier, Emily had been kneeling at Vanessa’s feet.
Now Vanessa was the one surrounded by staring faces.
Slowly, Vanessa unclasped the bracelet.
She placed it in Emily’s palm.
Emily closed her fingers around it.
Preston looked furious.
“Enough.”
He turned toward the guests.
“This event is over.”
Nobody moved.
Preston raised his voice.
“I said everyone out.”
Daniel cleared his throat.
“I’m afraid you no longer have authority to order anyone out of this property.”
Preston stared.
Daniel removed another document.
“The Harrington estate became Emily’s sole property at four o’clock.”
“This mansion included.”
Emily looked around.
Her childhood home.
Her father had hosted charity dinners here.
Her mother had played piano in the east room.
Emily had married Preston in the garden twelve years earlier.
After her father became ill, Preston had slowly taken control.
He changed the staff.
Changed the security company.
Changed the accountants.
Changed almost everything.
Emily had allowed it because she thought marriage meant trust.
Now she wondered how long the takeover had actually been planned.
Preston approached Daniel.
“You think a piece of paper changes anything?”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“No.”
“The probate court order does.”
Preston’s expression hardened.
Emily looked at the younger attorney.
“Who are you?”
“Michael Reeves.”
“Federal corporate litigation.”
Preston’s eyes snapped toward him.
Federal.
That word mattered.
Emily could see it.
“Why would my father hire you?”
Michael answered.
“Because what he discovered went beyond a marital dispute.”
Emily’s heart began pounding.
“What did he discover?”
Michael opened the black case again.
“There were twelve shell companies.”
“Seven overseas accounts.”
“Three falsified board resolutions.”
“And approximately eighty-six million dollars transferred out of Harrington Global over five years.”
Gasps spread through the executives.
Several board members immediately began whispering.
Preston shook his head.
“That’s a lie.”
Michael continued.
“The authorization signatures belong to Arthur Harrington.”
Emily’s stomach twisted.
“My father authorized it?”
“No.”
Michael looked directly at Preston.
“They were forged.”
Preston’s face became stone.
Emily stared at him.
“You forged my father’s signature?”
“Of course not.”
Michael placed a document on a nearby table.
“Then you won’t mind explaining why six transfers went directly into companies controlled by your college roommate.”
Preston said nothing.
Daniel removed the digital recorder.
Emily stared at it.
“What’s on that?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Your father.”
Emily swallowed.
“When?”
“Three days before his death.”
Preston suddenly said,
“Don’t play it.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He realized too late how guilty it sounded.
Emily’s voice became very quiet.
“Why?”
Preston looked at her.
“Because your father was dying.”
“He was medicated.”
“He was confused.”
Emily turned to Daniel.
“Play it.”
Daniel pressed the button.
Static filled the ballroom.
Then Emily heard her father’s voice.
Weak.
Raspy.
But unmistakable.
“Daniel, if you are recording this, then we are out of time.”
Emily covered her mouth.
She had not heard her father’s voice since his funeral.
The recording continued.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“I trusted Preston.”
Preston turned away.
“I allowed him access to things he should never have seen.”
Emily felt tears burn her eyes.
Her father coughed on the recording.
Then came another sentence.
“He knows about Meridian.”
Daniel stopped the recorder.
Emily stared at him.
“Why did you stop?”
“Because the rest should not be played publicly.”
“Why?”
Michael answered.
“Because Project Meridian involves you.”
Emily felt her baby move.
Her hand instinctively went to her stomach.
“How?”
Daniel looked at the hundreds of guests.
“We need somewhere private.”
Emily nodded toward her father’s library.
“Upstairs.”
Preston immediately stepped forward.
“Emily.”
She ignored him.
Daniel gathered the documents.
Michael closed the case.
Emily began walking toward the staircase.
Then a scream came from behind her.
Everyone turned.
Vanessa was standing near the ballroom doors.
Her face was white.
Her phone was in her hand.
“What happened?” Preston demanded.
Vanessa looked at him.
“They found him.”
Preston froze.
Emily felt the room shift.
“Found who?”
Vanessa said nothing.
Preston grabbed her arm.
“Vanessa.”
She whispered something.
Emily could barely hear it.
“Dr. Bell.”
Preston released her.
Emily stared at both of them.
“What happened to Dr. Bell?”
Vanessa looked at Emily.
May you like
And for the first time that night, Vanessa appeared genuinely terrified.
“He’s dead.”
