Chapter 9 - BRENDA'S FEAR
Brenda did not hate Audrey’s pregnancy.
She hated what it represented.
Change.
Loss of control.
Being left with responsibility while someone else kept status.
Their childhood explained some of it.
Audrey was the older sister.
Artistic.
Social.
The one relatives praised.
Brenda was practical.
The one sent to:
fix the broken zipper,
remember the reservation,
carry the bags,
clean after the party.
When they built the company, those roles returned.
Audrey became:
face,
design vision,
client favorite.
Brenda became:
production,
staffing,
damage control.
That division made them successful.
It also recreated every old resentment.
Then Audrey married Preston.
For the first time, Audrey had another life outside Brenda.
Then pregnancy.
Brenda heard coworkers say:
“Once the baby comes, Audrey may never come back full time.”
No one knew.
Rumor became forecast.
Grant turned forecast into contingency planning.
Brenda turned contingency into fear.
Fear turned into anger.
Then the fake email appeared from Audrey:
I’M CONTRIBUTING TWELVE PERCENT. YOU SHOULD MATCH ME.
Brenda read it as confirmation.
Audrey was professionalizing the company for her own graceful exit while forcing Brenda to dilute.
The birthday party came two days later.
It was Brenda’s daughter’s birthday.
Audrey arrived smiling.
Pregnant.
Calm.
Brenda had spent forty-eight hours believing her sister was secretly restructuring the company.
Then she saw Audrey whispering with Preston over her phone.
Mason’s name flashed on the screen.
Brenda snapped.
Audrey listened.
Not forgiving.
Understanding.
“You thought I was leaving you.”
“Yes.”
“You thought that gave you the right to hurt me.”
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
Brenda cried.
“Because for one second I wanted you to hurt as much as I did.”
That was the ugliest truth.
Not business.
Not ownership.
Punishment.
Audrey looked away.
Then said:
“I understand the fear.”
Brenda looked up.
“I do not forgive the act.”
Then Preston spoke.
“What about the email from Audrey’s account?”
Everyone returned to the unresolved point.
The false transfer email.
Not the voice clip.
An actual email.
IT traced it to Audrey’s mailbox through delegated access.
Who had delegated access?
Her old executive assistant, Rachel Stone.
But Rachel left the company five months earlier.
Her permissions should have been removed.
They were not.
Who still had Rachel’s credentials?
HR audit showed one active device.
An iPad assigned to the client lounge.
Used by dozens of employees.
The email could have been sent by almost anyone.
Then IT found the message was scheduled at 2:13 a.m.
Created at 6:42 p.m.
Security logs showed only one person using the client-lounge iPad at 6:42.
May you like
Preston.
Audrey slowly turned toward her husband.
