Chapter 7 - BRENDA'S EXIT PLAN
Brenda booked a private car under another name.
She did not tell Andrew.
She did not tell Margaret.
For two years, she had believed Andrew would eventually divorce Mariana and marry her.
Then six months earlier, she discovered the truth about the company.
Not all of it.
Just enough.
Andrew was wealthy.
Mariana was powerful.
And power was worth more.
Brenda began copying documents.
Bank notices.
Trust correspondence.
Passwords Andrew carelessly left inside his study.
She photographed signatures.
Downloaded board records.
And built an escape plan.
The necklace scheme had been Andrew’s idea after Mariana refused to sign the spousal consent.
But Brenda had improved it.
She planted the necklace.
She suggested witnesses.
She even told Margaret exactly when to accuse Mariana.
What Andrew did not know was that Brenda had also copied the unsigned agreement.
If Andrew succeeded, she planned to use it against him later.
If Andrew failed, she planned to sell everything to whoever paid most.
Her driver arrived at noon.
Brenda pulled her suitcase toward the service entrance.
Then she saw two black sedans outside.
Not police.
Escalante security.
She abandoned the suitcase.
Took the blue folder.
And slipped through the garden.
Inside headquarters, Mariana received a call from the estate manager.
“Mrs. Escalante.”
“Brenda is leaving.”
“Let her.”
The manager hesitated.
“She has documents.”
Mariana straightened.
“What documents?”
“We found an open safe in Mr. Andrew’s study.”
“Several trust records are missing.”
Mariana looked at Evelyn.
“Do not stop Brenda physically.”
She said.
“Track the vehicle if she takes one.”
“Preserve the cameras.”
“Call law enforcement if we confirm theft.”
The estate manager lowered his voice.
“There is something else.”
“A maid found the emerald necklace.”
Mariana frowned.
“Where?”
“Inside Mr. Andrew’s desk.”
Mariana went still.
The necklace Brenda had planted in Mariana’s purse had somehow returned to Andrew’s study.
That meant someone had removed it after the confrontation.
Someone had known the accusation might collapse.
That afternoon, police received Mariana’s security footage.
By three, detectives wanted statements from Brenda, Andrew, and Margaret.
But Brenda was gone.
Her passport was missing.
Her phone had been switched off.
And the tracker in the car she had planned to use never moved.
At 4:12 p.m., Mariana received an encrypted message from an unknown number.
I HAVE DOCUMENTS YOUR FATHER NEVER WANTED YOU TO SEE.
MEET ME ALONE.
The message included a photograph.
Mariana enlarged it.
Her heart stopped.
May you like
It showed Rafael Escalante shaking hands with Andrew’s late father.
The date stamped in the corner was twenty-two years earlier.
