Chapter 6 - DEREK DIDN'T LOVE THE DEAL—HE BUILT IT
Derek disappeared for three days.
Not missing.
Lawyered.
His attorney, Abigail Stone, contacted Maya and instructed all communications to go through counsel.
Smart.
Then Claire’s cybersecurity team found the rest.
Derek had been communicating with Trident Freight Partners for nearly a year.
He pitched Whitmore Logistics before he and Claire became serious.
At the time, he described Claire as:
key shareholder, emotionally attached to legacy assets, likely resistant to sale.
Two months later, he began dating her.
Claire stared at the timeline.
Maya said nothing.
Didn’t need to.
Claire asked:
“Was I the assignment?”
“We can’t prove that.”
“Was the relationship real?”
“We can’t prove that either.”
That hurt more.
Then an email.
Derek to Trident executive:
Once I’m inside the family decision loop, resistance becomes manageable.
Sent three weeks after his first date with Claire.
Her stomach turned.
Another:
Richard is persuadable. Veronica is desperate. Claire is the wall.
Another:
If Claire won’t sign directly, successor authority may solve it.
That was the architecture.
Derek identified weakness.
Richard’s pride.
Veronica’s debt.
Claire’s family loyalty.
Then he entered through romance.
Maybe he developed genuine feelings later.
Maybe not.
It no longer mattered.
The relationship had begun inside a conflict he never disclosed.
That alone destroyed it.
Then the worst message:
If the kid saw the document, keep it small. Claire goes feral over her.
Claire read that line twice.
May you like
Not because of the insult.
Because he knew exactly how to use her love for Khloe against her.
