Chapter 7 - A Mother’s Bargain
Lauren called me at 8:06 a.m.
The number was blocked.
The hospital had already moved me to a private floor, and every call was being monitored.
Detective Ortiz motioned for me to answer.
“Clare.”
Lauren’s voice shook.
“Where is Owen?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s not at the house.”
“The nanny isn’t answering.”
“Matthew took him.”
My father leaned toward the phone.
“Why would Matthew take the child?”
Lauren heard him.
“Mr. Sterling?”
“Answer the question.”
“He knows I kept copies.”
“Copies of what?”
“Everything.”
Lauren began crying.
Not delicately.
Not beautifully.
She sounded terrified.
“Matthew made me approve the Northstar accounts.”
“I knew the consulting work was fake, but he said it was temporary.”
“He said the money belonged to him because Clare had never earned it.”
My stomach twisted.
“You believed him.”
I said.
“Yes.”
Her honesty surprised me.
“I wanted to believe him.”
“He told me you were cold.”
“That you refused to give him a family.”
“That your marriage existed only for appearances.”
“He told me you knew about us.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know that now.”
“Where are you?”
Ortiz asked.
Lauren refused to answer.
She said Blackline employees were following her.
She had escaped Matthew at a gas station after he took Owen from the back seat.
“What copies do you have?”
I asked.
“A ledger.”
“Audio files.”
“Contracts.”
“And a video of Matthew meeting someone from Sterling Holdings.”
My father’s face changed.
“Who?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“He was older.”
“Gray hair.”
“He wore a gold ring with a black stone.”
My father knew immediately.
“Victor Dane.”
“Who is he?”
I asked.
“My deputy chairman.”
Richard’s voice turned flat.
“He has been trying to convince the board to acquire NexusCore for two years.”
Lauren whispered that Victor had financed Helix Crown through offshore accounts.
The plan had never been merely to enrich Matthew.
Victor intended to steal NexusCore’s technology, force Sterling Holdings to acquire the empty company, and then blame my father for the losses.
Matthew believed he would become chief executive of the combined corporation.
Victor intended to discard him as soon as the sale closed.
“Where is the evidence?”
My father asked.
Lauren inhaled unevenly.
“In the antique cane.”
I looked toward Detective Ortiz.
“The cane is in police custody.”
Lauren explained that Matthew had removed the brass cap from the handle months earlier.
Inside was a waterproof storage compartment.
He kept an encrypted drive there because he believed no one would ever examine a family heirloom.
My father called Ortiz’s evidence team.
The cane was opened under camera.
Inside the handle was a narrow black flash drive.
The technician connected it to an isolated computer.
A password prompt appeared.
Lauren spoke before anyone asked.
“Clare’s wedding date.”
The drive unlocked.
Folders filled the screen.
One was labeled STERLING SUCCESSION.
Another was labeled OWEN DNA.
A third contained a single video file.
May you like
The preview image showed Matthew standing beside Victor Dane.
Between them was my father’s confidential estate plan.
