Chapter 9 - VANESSA BEFORE RICHARD
Vanessa stared at the photograph.
“I wondered when that would appear.”
Emma looked at her.
“You knew Samuel?”
“Yes.”
Tyler went pale.
“You knew my father?”
Vanessa turned toward him.
“I worked for him.”
Tyler stared.
“No.”
“I was a compliance consultant.”
“You told me you met Richard at a charity dinner.”
“I lied.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Finally.”
Vanessa ignored him.
She told them Samuel had hired her to investigate irregularities in Carter Freight’s regulatory problems.
She discovered inspectors were being paid.
Contracts were being manipulated.
The trail led toward Richard’s network.
“Why were you at the river?” Tyler asked.
Vanessa hesitated.
“Samuel called me.”
“When?”
“The night he died.”
Tyler’s voice broke.
“What did he say?”
“He said he had proof.”
“Of Richard’s crimes?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I drove there.”
“And?”
“His car was already over the barrier.”
Tyler stared at her.
“You watched him die?”
“No.”
Vanessa’s composure finally cracked.
“I arrived afterward.”
“Why didn’t you tell police?”
“I did.”
Emma frowned.
“Then why aren’t you in the report?”
Vanessa looked at Richard.
“Because someone removed my statement.”
Richard shook his head.
“I didn’t know you were there.”
“Maybe not.”
Vanessa’s voice turned cold.
“But someone in your company did.”
Emma thought of the missing ledger.
The forged account.
The fake Vanessa in the warehouse.
Someone had been manipulating evidence for decades.
“Who handled security back then?” Emma asked.
Richard answered immediately.
“Martin Vale.”
Emma knew Martin.
Richard’s oldest friend.
Chairman of Hale Atlantic’s board.
Practically family.
Vanessa looked at Richard.
“You never suspected him?”
“Martin built this company with me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“No.”
Tyler asked Vanessa, “Why marry Richard?”
The question hung in the room.
Emma looked at her.
Vanessa did not hide.
“At first?”
“Yes.”
“To get close enough to learn what happened.”
Richard stared at her.
Vanessa continued.
“Then I fell in love with him.”
Richard laughed once.
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Vanessa looked strangely sad.
“I stopped expecting you to believe anything years ago.”
Emma asked, “And now?”
“Now I want control of Hale Atlantic.”
There it was.
Clear.
Unashamed.
Richard said, “You see?”
Vanessa turned on him.
“Yes, Richard. I want control. Because you built a company where secrets became currency, loyalty became blackmail, and every person around you learned that power was the only protection.”
Emma stared at her.
Vanessa continued.
“You want me to apologize for wanting enough power to survive you?”
“No,” Emma said.
“I want to know what you’re willing to do to get it.”
Vanessa met her eyes.
“More than you.”
Emma’s phone rang.
Martin Vale.
She answered.
“Emma, where is your father?”
“With me.”
“Good. Keep him there.”
“Why?”
Martin’s voice changed.
“The board just received evidence that Richard transferred forty million dollars offshore.”
Emma looked at Richard.
“Where?”
May you like
Martin answered.
“An account controlled by Vanessa.”
