Chapter 6 - The Secretary's Missing Phone
By midnight, the ballroom had emptied, but the scandal had already reached every business reporter in Chicago.
Ethan's promotion was officially suspended. The company issued a statement promising a full investigation, and my attorneys escorted me through a private exit.
I expected to feel victorious.
Instead, I felt watched.
A black sedan followed our car for six blocks before disappearing into traffic.
At home, I called Arthur.
“Find Vanessa's financial records,” I instructed. “Every payment, every transfer, every message connected to Ethan or Daniel.”
“Already underway,” he said. “But Vanessa is missing.”
“Missing?”
“Her apartment was emptied an hour ago. Her company phone was left behind, but the personal phone she used for executive communications is gone.”
That phone could contain everything.
I was preparing to call security when my doorbell rang.
A young woman stood outside, trembling beneath a gray coat.
Vanessa.
Without her makeup and expensive clothes, she looked younger than twenty-four. Her eyes were red, and she kept looking over her shoulder.
“I need your help,” she whispered.
I didn't open the door fully.
“You humiliated me tonight.”
“I know.”
“You helped my husband betray me.”
“I know.”
“And you expect me to help you?”
Vanessa reached into her coat and placed a tiny memory card on the doorstep.
“Ethan told me the money was legitimate. Daniel told me the trust would collapse before anyone noticed. I believed them until I found the recording.”
“What recording?”
She swallowed.
“The night your father died. Daniel was there. Ethan wasn't, but he has a copy of the original audio.”
I stared at her.
“Why would Ethan have that?”
“Because he was promised the company if he helped Daniel destroy your mother's evidence.”
The baby shifted, and I gripped the doorframe.
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“There's something else. They know about your pregnancy. They know your child could inherit voting rights through the trust.”
Before I could ask another question, headlights swept across the windows.
Vanessa turned pale.
“They found me.”
A car door slammed outside.
Then someone knocked three times.
May you like
And a man's voice called through the door.
“Mrs. Caldwell, we're here for the memory card.”
