Chapter 4 - MARGARET'S SECRET
The meeting was suspended for twenty minutes.
No one left the floor.
Andrew pulled Margaret into a private office and shut the door.
Brenda tried to follow.
He stopped her.
“You stay outside.”
Brenda’s expression sharpened.
“Andrew.”
“Outside.”
For once, she obeyed.
Inside the office, Margaret immediately began pacing.
“She is manipulating you.”
Andrew watched her.
“Did you give Brenda Mariana’s access information?”
“Of course not.”
“You hesitated.”
“I am under attack.”
“Answer me.”
Margaret turned.
“You are my son.”
“That is not an answer.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You have no idea what I have done to protect this family.”
Andrew felt something cold move through his stomach.
“What did you do?”
Margaret lowered her voice.
“Mariana was never right for you.”
Andrew stared at her.
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“She always behaved like she was better than us.”
Andrew almost laughed.
“You spent four years calling her poor.”
“And she allowed it.”
“That should tell you something.”
Margaret moved closer.
“She was hiding something.”
“Yes.”
Andrew looked toward the glass wall separating the office from the boardroom.
“She was hiding the fact that she owns half my life.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“She trapped you.”
“No.”
Andrew’s voice became quieter.
“I think she saved me.”
Margaret stopped moving.
Andrew continued.
“I’ve been reading the documents.”
“The mansion was purchased through an Escalante trust six years ago.”
“The company bailout came from her father’s fund.”
“The private plane isn’t mine.”
“The Aspen property isn’t mine.”
“Even the credit facility I bragged about negotiating was guaranteed by one of her companies.”
He looked at his mother.
“How long did you know?”
Margaret’s silence answered him.
Andrew stepped backward.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew.”
“I found documents last year.”
Andrew stared at her.
“And you never told me?”
“I was protecting your confidence.”
“My confidence?”
“I was protecting our position.”
Her voice hardened.
“If you discovered that everything depended on Mariana, you would have become weak around her.”
Andrew looked almost sick.
Margaret reached for his arm.
“I helped you become the man you needed to be.”
He pulled away.
“By helping me cheat on her?”
Margaret stiffened.
“I never told you to sleep with Brenda.”
“No.”
“You only invited her everywhere.”
“You told me Mariana embarrassed our family.”
“You told me Brenda understood people like us.”
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
“Brenda was useful.”
Andrew laughed bitterly.
“Useful.”
Suddenly the door opened.
Mariana stood there.
She had heard enough.
Margaret’s face changed immediately.
“You were listening?”
Mariana stepped inside.
“It’s my office.”
Andrew looked at her.
For the first time since the night before, there was no arrogance in his eyes.
Only confusion.
“Mariana.”
She ignored him.
Her attention remained on Margaret.
“Where is the necklace?”
Margaret blinked.
“What?”
“The emerald necklace you accused me of stealing.”
“I don’t know.”
Mariana took another step.
“You were holding an empty jewelry box before Andrew struck me.”
“Where is the necklace?”
Margaret lifted her chin.
“You expect me to believe you care about jewelry now?”
“No.”
Mariana’s voice was almost gentle.
“I care because the accusation was planned.”
“And planned accusations leave evidence.”
Margaret’s confidence faltered.
Mariana looked toward Evelyn standing in the hallway.
“Search the mansion security archive.”
Andrew’s eyes widened.
“My mother disabled the cameras last night.”
Mariana turned to him.
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because she only disabled the cameras she knew about.”
Margaret went pale.
Mariana continued.
“The security system was replaced eighteen months ago.”
“The primary recordings are stored off-site.”
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“And Margaret never knew there was a second archive.”
*
