Chapter 6 - BRENDA’S BARGAINBrenda called me at two in the morning.
She was crying.
At first, I assumed it was another performance.
Then I heard glass breaking behind her.
“Someone is inside my apartment,” she whispered.
“Call the police.”
“They cut the phone line.”
“You are calling me.”
“I have a second phone.”
Another crash sounded.
“Where are you?”
“In the bathroom.”
“Lock the door.”
“It won’t hold.”
I contacted Gabriel with one hand and security with the other.
“Why would anyone come after you?” I asked.
“Because I know about Victor Kane.”
“You knew Andrew was meeting him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Margaret told me.”
Footsteps moved closer to Brenda’s door.
She began breathing rapidly.
“Mariana, please.”
“Security is coming.”
“If they find me…”
“Stay quiet.”
The bathroom door shook.
Brenda screamed.
Then the call ended.
Our team reached the apartment six minutes later.
The intruder escaped through a service stairwell.
Brenda was found hiding inside the bathtub.
She had minor cuts but no serious injuries.
At the hospital, she agreed to speak only if I came personally.
I found her sitting upright beneath a white blanket.
The confident woman in the crimson gown was gone.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Protection.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Everything.”
She handed me a small digital recorder.
“I recorded Margaret.”
“Why?”
“Because I never trusted her.”
The files contained months of conversations.
Margaret discussing the necklace.
Margaret arranging payments.
Margaret explaining how to manipulate Andrew.
One recording was different.
Victor Kane’s voice spoke through a speakerphone.
Once Mariana is removed, Andrew becomes disposable.
Brenda looked at me.
“They never planned to save him.”
“Why should I care?”
“Because Andrew knows where the missing money went.”
“The Swiss accounts?”
She nodded.
“It wasn’t all for him.”
“Who else?”
“Margaret.”
That explained her desperation.
Margaret had hidden millions inside accounts bearing Andrew’s initials.
If the fraud surfaced, he would appear responsible.
Andrew was not innocent.
But his mother had prepared him as a shield.
“What do you know about Victor’s plan?” I asked.
“He wants to force Whitmore Global into insolvency.”
“Why?”
“So Escalante Holdings will inject emergency funds.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He does not want Whitmore.”
“Then what?”
“He wants access to the financing platform your father uses.”
The company crisis was bait.
Victor wanted my family’s internal systems exposed during a rescue.
“How does Andrew help?”
“He gave Victor the credentials from your home office.”
My stomach tightened.
I remembered one night when Andrew entered while I was reviewing confidential funding models.
He apologized.
He claimed he was searching for a charger.
He had been photographing the screen.
“Do they have access now?”
“I don’t know.”
I called Daniel, head of digital security.
Within minutes, he found attempted intrusions originating from Kane Meridian servers.
No breach had occurred.
But they were still trying.
Brenda watched me make the calls.
“Will you protect me?”
“You helped frame me.”
“I know.”
“You watched Andrew hit me.”
Her eyes lowered.
“I know.”
“You smiled.”
“I was afraid.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You were pleased.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I hated you.”
“Why?”
“Because you had everything.”
“You thought I had nothing.”
“That was what Margaret told me.”
“And you still hated me.”
Brenda looked toward the window.
“Andrew spoke about you constantly.”
“As an insult?”
“No.”
She laughed bitterly.
“He admired you.”
I said nothing.
“He hated that he admired you,” she continued.
“He said every room changed when you entered it.”
“That did not stop him from humiliating me.”
“He wanted to prove he did not need you.”
“And you helped him.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised me.
“I am not asking forgiveness,” she said.
“Good.”
“I am asking to survive.”
I looked at the recorder.
Her testimony could expose Margaret and Victor.
It could also prevent a larger attack on my father’s company.
“You will enter protective custody,” I said.
Relief crossed her face.
“Thank you.”
“This is not kindness.”
“I understand.”
“You will testify.”
“Yes.”
“You will admit everything you did.”
Her face tightened.
“That could send me to prison.”
“Yes.”
She looked at me for a long time.
Then she nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
As I left the room, Brenda called my name.
“Mariana.”
I stopped.
“Andrew did love you.”
I did not turn around.
“No.”
May you like
I opened the door.
“He loved being saved.”
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