Chapter 14 - Veronica Chooses a Side
Veronica arrived at Elena’s office without makeup and without her usual confidence.
“I know who Damian’s mother was.”
“So do I.”
Veronica stopped.
“How?”
“Elena Voss doesn’t survive by waiting for gossip.”
Veronica sat.
“Elias is going to use Damian’s inheritance claim.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not worried?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Elena placed Margaret Shaw’s original partnership agreement on the table.
Twenty percent.
Enough to reshape the company.
Veronica read it.
“Can Damian win?”
“If the trust survived legally, possibly.”
“That means everything you did to him could reverse.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because ownership doesn’t erase fraud.”
Veronica leaned back.
“You really are different from him.”
Elena looked at her.
“That sounded almost like admiration.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Good.”
Veronica reached into her bag.
“I brought you something.”
A small recorder landed on the desk.
“What is it?”
“A conversation between Damian and Elias.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
Elena pressed play.
Damian’s voice filled the room.
What if Elena refuses to sign?
Elias answered.
Then we use Meridian.
And if she fights?
She won’t fight once the doctors certify her.
Elena’s face went still.
Then another voice appeared.
Veronica’s.
You said nobody gets hurt.
Elias laughed.
Nobody important.
Veronica stopped the recording.
“I was there.”
“You knew.”
“I knew they wanted control.”
“I didn’t know the medical records were fake until later.”
“You still helped them.”
“Yes.”
Elena looked at her for a long time.
“Why give me this?”
Veronica’s eyes glistened, but her voice stayed steady.
“Because Damian told me yesterday that if this collapses, Northstar was my idea.”
Elena understood.
“He intends to make you the fall person.”
“He already has.”
Veronica looked down.
“I thought being chosen by a powerful man meant I had power.”
“It doesn’t.”
“No.”
Veronica gave a bitter smile.
“It means you’re useful until you’re expensive.”
The phrase landed between them.
Elena remembered Damian calling her an expense.
Perhaps that was how he saw every woman eventually.
An asset when useful.
A liability when inconvenient.
Elena picked up the recorder.
“I can protect you from corporate retaliation.”
“Not prosecution.”
“I won’t lie to you.”
Veronica nodded.
“That’s more than he ever gave me.”
Elena stood.
“Then tell me everything.”
Veronica looked up.
“There’s one more thing.”
May you like
“What?”
“Someone inside your office has been sending Elias your documents.”
