Chapter 8 - Lauren’s Price
Lauren wanted immunity.
Not from the assault.
She could not negotiate that with us.
She wanted protection from the financial investigation.
She wanted the Sterling family to pay for a lawyer.
She wanted a secure place for Theodore.
And she wanted my father to guarantee that Matthew could never financially reach their son again.
My father refused before she finished.
“No.”
Lauren stared at him.
“You haven’t even heard everything.”
“I heard enough.”
Richard raised a hand.
“Alexander.”
My father looked at him.
Richard’s voice remained calm.
“She may possess evidence relevant to multiple crimes.”
My mother turned on him.
“She watched Clare being beaten.”
“Yes.”
“And you want to bargain with her?”
“I want prosecutors to decide what value her cooperation has.”
Lauren looked at me.
“I am not asking you to forgive me.”
“Good.”
“Because I know you won’t.”
“You’re right.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Theodore is two.”
My throat tightened.
“That is not relevant.”
“He is innocent.”
“I know.”
The answer surprised her.
I continued.
“He did not betray me.”
“You did.”
“Matthew did.”
“But your son did not.”
Lauren started crying again.
I hated that part of myself still capable of seeing a child inside this disaster.
“Where is he?”
“With my sister.”
“Is he safe?”
“For now.”
My father looked at me.
I knew he hated where this was going.
I looked at Richard.
“Call Detective Ruiz.”
Lauren lifted her head.
“What?”
“You want protection?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell the truth to someone who can legally arrange it.”
Fear crossed her face.
“If I go to police, Matthew will know.”
“He already thinks you betrayed him.”
“You don’t understand him.”
I stared at my cast.
“I understand enough.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice dropped.
“Matthew does not lose.”
Neither my father nor Richard reacted.
I did.
Because I had heard that sentence before.
Matthew said it after a competitor beat NexusCore to a government contract.
He smiled at me in our kitchen.
People misunderstand me, Clare.
I can tolerate losing once.
I simply make sure the person who beat me never gets the opportunity twice.
At the time I thought it was ambition.
Now it sounded like confession.
“What did he do to Owen?”
Lauren closed her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“You said they met.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“A bar outside Albany.”
“Why?”
“Owen wanted money.”
“For what?”
“To leave the country.”
My father frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
Lauren nodded.
“I know.”
“Owen had already resigned.”
“He said Matthew was still threatening him.”
“With the old loan?”
“With more than that.”
“What?”
Lauren looked toward the library doors as if Matthew might be standing outside.
“He had begun calling Owen’s wife.”
My stomach turned.
“What did he say?”
“That Owen was unstable.”
“That he was drinking.”
“That he had stolen company money.”
“He was building a story.”
Exactly as he had done with me.
Lauren continued.
“Owen wanted Matthew to sign a letter confirming the loan had been repaid and that NexusCore would never pursue him.”
“Matthew agreed?”
“He pretended to.”
“Then?”
“They met.”
“And the next night Owen died.”
“Yes.”
My father asked.
“Did Matthew tell you about the meeting?”
Lauren shook her head.
“I found the receipt.”
“What receipt?”
“Private driver.”
Richard leaned forward.
“Do you have it?”
“On the drive.”
That changed everything.
Richard immediately called Detective Ruiz.
Lauren gave a formal statement that afternoon.
The flash drive went directly into evidence.
We did not watch the assault video.
Not yet.
I could not.
Detective Ruiz did.
She called me that evening.
Her voice was quieter than usual.
“The recording is clear.”
I sat on the edge of my bed.
“How clear?”
“Very.”
“Can you see him?”
“Yes.”
“Can you see me?”
“Mostly.”
I closed my eyes.
“Can you hear Lauren?”
Ruiz paused.
“Yes.”
“What does she say?”
The silence answered before she did.
“Detective.”
“At several points she tells him to stop.”
My chest tightened.
That was not what I expected.
“She told him to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Immediately?”
“No.”
The anger returned.
“What did she say before that?”
Ruiz hesitated.
“You should review it with your attorney when you are ready.”
“Tell me.”
“Clare.”
“Tell me.”
Another pause.
“At the beginning, she laughs.”
I stared at the wall.
Of course she did.
Ruiz continued.
“She appears to believe he is threatening you theatrically.”
“She says something to the effect of asking whether he will actually follow through.”
My skin went cold.
“And Matthew?”
“He tells her to watch.”
I stopped breathing.
There it was.
The title of my humiliation.
The reason.
The performance.
He had not simply attacked me because Lauren was present.
He wanted her to see it.
He wanted to prove something.
That he controlled me.
That he was choosing her.
That I was powerless.
Ruiz continued.
“After the third or fourth strike, Lauren tells him it has gone too far.”
“Does he stop?”
“No.”
“Does she disconnect?”
“No.”
“Does she call anyone?”
“No.”
I looked toward the window.
“Then she watched.”
“Yes.”
Ruiz’s voice remained careful.
“There is also a conversation after he leaves you on the floor.”
My stomach knotted.
“What conversation?”
“Matthew picks up the phone.”
“And?”
“He tells Lauren he handled it.”
I closed my eyes.
Ruiz continued.
“Lauren sounds distressed.”
“She asks whether you need a doctor.”
“What does he say?”
The detective paused.
“He says you need a lesson.”
Something in me became very quiet.
There are moments when pain becomes too large for anger.
It simply turns cold.
“What else?”
“He tells Lauren to meet him.”
“Where?”
“The Hamptons property.”
I laughed without humor.
“He left me on the floor and drove to his son.”
“We believe so.”
Ruiz continued.
“There is another relevant section.”
“What?”
“Lauren asks whether you could expose the transfers.”
My eyes opened.
“And Matthew says?”
“He says you cannot expose anything because you no longer own enough of the company to matter.”
I stopped breathing.
The assault.
The stolen shares.
The affair.
The financial fraud.
They were not separate stories.
They were one.
Matthew had reduced my ownership.
Removed me from the company.
Isolated me from my family.
Prepared a story about my mental health.
Built another family.
And when I finally came close to discovering the truth, he used violence to put me back into the role he had designed.
Ruiz continued.
“One final thing.”
“What?”
“Matthew mentions destroying something before dawn.”
My heart sped up.
“What?”
“He does not say.”
“Lauren asks whether he means Owen’s copy.”
My entire body went cold.
“And?”
“Matthew says yes.”
The storage unit.
The box.
The break-in.
He had been searching for Owen’s evidence within minutes of leaving me.
Not because he feared the assault.
Because he feared what I might uncover once I stopped protecting him.
Detective Ruiz exhaled.
“Clare, do you understand what this means?”
“Yes.”
May you like
The beating was not the beginning of Matthew’s collapse.
It was the moment he accidentally connected every crime he had spent years keeping separate.
