Chapter 6 - THE INVESTOR
Hawthorne Strategic Partners had its own problem.
They claimed they believed Claire approved the restructuring.
Their managing partner, Stephen Hawthorne, was sixty, polished, and allergic to scandal.
He met with Maya and Claire voluntarily.
“We will not close any transaction built on disputed consent.”
Claire appreciated the sentence.
Then asked:
“Who told you I wanted out?”
“Julian.”
“Anyone else?”
Hawthorne hesitated.
“Margaret Ruiz.”
Of course.
Margaret had told him Claire was planning to “de-risk personally” and focus on philanthropy.
Claire almost laughed.
She did not run a philanthropy.
“What due diligence did you do?”
“We reviewed signed consents.”
“Fake ones.”
“Yes.”
His discomfort increased.
Then Maya asked:
“Who submitted the consent packet?”
Hawthorne’s general counsel checked the file.
“Andrew Bell’s office received it from Morgan West administration.”
“Which administrator?”
A name surfaced.
Megan Price.
Julian’s executive assistant.
Megan had quit two weeks earlier.
They found her in Colorado.
She agreed to speak after her attorney negotiated protections.
The truth was uglier than Claire expected and simpler than she feared.
Julian created the alias.
Megan knew.
He told her Claire wanted the restructuring completed discreetly because the marriage was unstable and Claire did not want direct contact.
Megan thought it sounded strange.
Asked once.
Julian said:
“Do you want to be the assistant who blows up a founder’s marriage because you don’t understand privacy?”
She stopped asking.
She uploaded signature images Julian provided.
Forgery by hierarchy.
Not a grand hacker.
A boss.
An assistant.
An excuse.
Megan cried during the interview.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire believed her regret.
Still, consequences existed.
Maya asked:
“Did Margaret know?”
Megan nodded.
“She came to the office the day we finalized the packet.”
“What did she say?”
Megan looked uncomfortable.
“She said, ‘Claire will be angry until she sees this is better for everyone.’”
Claire closed her eyes.
Better for everyone.
The family phrase behind every theft of autonomy.
Margaret had not signed the false document.
But she knew Claire had not agreed.
And she encouraged the process anyway.
The business betrayal was no longer speculative.
It was structured.
Maya filed amended claims.
May you like
Julian’s counsel called them aggressive.
Claire called them accurate.
