Chapter 5 - The First Betrayal
Charles Whitmore had known me since I was six years old.
He attended my graduation.
He danced with me at my wedding.
He stood beside my father's coffin.
When Marcus first joined Sinclair Hospitality, Charles was one of the executives who objected most strongly.
For years, I interpreted that as loyalty.
Now my father's warning echoed inside my head.
Do not trust the person who helps you win the first vote.
Charles had done more than help.
He had personally persuaded three directors to vote for me.
I shook his hand.
"Thank you, Charles."
His smile was warm.
Almost paternal.
"Richard always knew you would eventually take your place."
I studied his face.
"Did he?"
"Of course."
Then he leaned closer.
"You waited too long."
Before I could respond, he walked away.
Marcus had watched from across the room.
He approached after the directors left.
"What did he say?"
I told him.
Marcus looked toward the closing door.
"Charles hated me from the beginning."
"That doesn't make him guilty."
"No."
Marcus loosened his tie.
"But your father trusted him more than anyone."
"Exactly."
Marcus looked at me strangely.
"That's not always a defense."
I hated that he had a point.
Samuel joined us carrying the voting records.
"There's another problem."
"What?"
"During the emergency control review, we discovered that eight percent of Sinclair voting shares disappeared from the trust ledger fourteen months ago."
I stared at him.
"Shares don't disappear."
"They were transferred."
"To whom?"
"A dormant trust."
"Whose?"
Samuel hesitated.
"The Thomas Sinclair Family Trust."
I felt the room tilt.
"My uncle died thirty years ago."
"Yes."
"Without children."
"According to the public records."
Marcus looked at me.
"According to your father too?"
I thought back.
My father almost never spoke about Thomas.
When I asked as a child, he would say only that his brother made dangerous choices.
I had assumed grief explained the silence.
Maybe it was fear.
Samuel continued.
"If Thomas had an heir, that person could have a legitimate claim."
"How large?"
"Potentially enough to challenge your controlling interest if they prove certain provisions were violated."
Marcus swore softly.
I looked toward Samuel.
"Who authorized the transfer fourteen months ago?"
His expression gave me the answer before he spoke.
"Your electronic signature."
I laughed.
"I didn't authorize anything."
"I know."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Fourteen months ago."
The timing mattered.
That was when his affair with Vanessa began.
I looked at him.
"Did Vanessa ever have access to my home office?"
His face changed.
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"Amelia."
"How many times?"
He looked away.
"Enough."
I felt humiliation burn through me again.
Not because of the affair.
Because while I had been protecting our marriage from public scandal, they might have been using my access to dismantle my family trust.
Daniel called from the doorway.
"We located Blue Meridian Holdings."
The shell company connected to the seven-million-dollar transfer.
"Who owns it?"
"A woman named Victoria Mercer."
Marcus looked up sharply.
"Edwin's daughter?"
Daniel nodded.
"Thirty-eight years old."
"Where is she?"
"According to federal travel records, she entered the United States six months ago."
Samuel asked, "Address?"
Daniel looked directly at me.
"The Sinclair Grand Hotel."
I frowned.
"She's a guest?"
"No."
He turned his tablet around.
An employee photograph appeared.
My executive assistant smiled back at me.
The woman I knew as Victoria Lane.
The woman who had managed my private calendar for almost three years.
May you like
Her real name was Victoria Mercer.
And she had been sitting outside my office the entire morning.
