Chapter 4 - THE FIRST CRACK IN THE LIEEthan and Caroline agreed to work together.
They did not tell Nathan.
He was too emotionally trapped to think clearly.
If Vanessa learned they were investigating, she could destroy evidence or disappear.
Caroline contacted her attorney, Melissa Grant.
Melissa examined the trust proposal and immediately noticed several unusual clauses.
The transfer of company shares would become permanent the moment Nathan signed.
Even if the pregnancy ended, the shares would remain under the trust’s control until a court ordered otherwise.
Vanessa had also requested that Nathan waive the right to demand independent medical verification.
The clause was hidden beneath several pages of standard legal language.
“This document was written by someone who understands corporate law,” Melissa said.
“Vanessa did not create it alone.”
Ethan thought about everyone who had benefited from Nathan’s recent instability.
One name stood above the others.
Damian Cross.
Damian was Cole International’s chief financial officer.
He had spent months pushing Nathan to step aside temporarily.
He claimed investors needed stable leadership.
If Nathan lost control of twelve percent of the company, Damian could organize enough shareholders to force him out permanently.
Caroline searched through older emails.
Two months before Vanessa’s announcement, Damian had recommended that the company hire Vanessa’s public relations firm.
He had introduced her to Nathan during a conference in Los Angeles.
The same conference where Nathan’s betrayal occurred.
Ethan felt the pieces beginning to connect.
Vanessa had not met Nathan by accident.
That afternoon, Ethan returned to the mansion.
Vanessa was in the conservatory, speaking quietly on the telephone.
She did not see him behind the partly closed glass door.
“The baby shower has to happen before the board meeting,” she whispered.
A man answered, but Ethan could not hear his words.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“He’s almost ready to sign.”
There was another pause.
“No, Ethan doesn’t know anything.”
Ethan remained perfectly still.
Vanessa’s hand moved to her stomach.
She adjusted the side of her dress.
For a brief moment, the fabric lifted.
Ethan saw a wide beige band wrapped around her waist.
A row of tiny silver fastening points ran along its edge.
One of those points was empty.
The missing pin was now in Ethan’s possession.
He quietly raised his phone and took three photographs.
Then the floorboard beneath him creaked.
Vanessa turned.
“Who’s there?”
Ethan stepped away from the door before she could see him.
He moved down the hallway at a calm pace.
Vanessa entered the corridor seconds later.
Her eyes swept across the empty space.
Ethan had already disappeared around the corner.
May you like
But Vanessa knew someone had been listening.
And for the first time since her deception began, she was afraid.
Related Stories
