Chapter Five: Nathan’s Version
Nathan requested to see me.
His attorney sent the message through Rebecca.
My first answer was no.
Then I learned he had offered information in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Information about Blackridge Capital.
I agreed to a supervised meeting.
Two weeks had passed since the raid. I could walk short distances, though every movement reminded me of that night.
Nathan entered the federal interview room wearing a plain detention uniform.
Without his tailored suits, expensive watch and polished confidence, he looked smaller.
He sat across from me behind a metal table.
A camera recorded everything.
Rebecca waited on the other side of the glass.
Nathan looked at the faint mark near my temple, then away.
“Evelyn.”
I said nothing.
“I didn’t know who your father was.”
“That is your defense?”
“No.”
He rubbed his hands together.
“I’m trying to explain.”
“You had four years to explain.”
“Celeste manipulated me.”
“You enjoyed it.”
His eyes hardened.
There he was.
The real Nathan.
“You think you’re innocent?” he asked. “You lied about your family. You watched me make decisions without telling me who you were.”
“You made your decisions because you believed I had no power.”
“You tested me.”
“My father warned me. I chose not to listen.”
Nathan leaned closer.
“You could have stopped all of this.”
“So could you.”
He sat back.
For a moment, he seemed almost offended by the idea that his actions belonged to him.
Then his voice changed.
Softer.
More calculated.
“I loved you once.”
“No. You loved being admired.”
“That isn’t true.”
“You loved the version of me that never challenged you.”
He looked toward the camera.
“Celeste approached me after the Rotterdam acquisition. She knew details about Vale shipping contracts. She said Blackridge could help Ashford Global become independent from traditional lenders.”
“What did she want?”
“Access.”
“To what?”
“Your father’s maritime security network.”
I kept my face still.
“How?”
“Through you.”
The room became very quiet.
Nathan continued.
“She believed you had private access codes or documents. When she discovered you didn’t, she wanted me to pressure you into contacting your father.”
“So the accidents?”
His silence answered.
“The staircase,” I said.
Nathan looked down.
“Celeste told you to push me?”
“She said fear would make you reach out to your family.”
“And when I didn’t?”
“She became suspicious.”
“Of my investigation?”
“Yes.”
I stared at the man I had married.
Every apology he had offered after hurting me had been strategy.
Every gift had been camouflage.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Nathan finally looked afraid.
“Because Blackridge kills people who fail.”
I stood slowly.
“That sounds like your problem.”
“They’ll come after you too.”
“Then give prosecutors everything.”
“I need protection.”
“You should have remembered your place.”
May you like
His face twisted.
I left him sitting beneath the camera, surrounded by the truth he had spent years avoiding.
