Chapter 3 - THE MAN I WAS SUPPOSED TO MARRY
“Why?”
That was the only word I could force out.
Mateo exhaled through the phone.
“Not like this.”
“You broke into my apartment.”
“I used your mother’s key.”
“Why?”
“To get your attention.”
“You already had my attention when I watched you kissing Selina.”
Julian’s expression remained unreadable.
Mateo went quiet.
Then:
“The kiss was deliberate.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Selina and I planned for you to see us.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“You humiliated me on purpose?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to end the engagement.”
I laughed once.
Sharp.
Disbelieving.
“You could have simply told me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because our parents would have stopped you.”
My anger slowed.
“What are you talking about?”
Mateo lowered his voice.
“You think the wedding was about merging companies?”
“That’s what everybody says.”
“It’s bigger.”
“How?”
“Your father owes mine seventy-three million dollars.”
Silence.
I looked at Julian.
His eyes sharpened.
Mateo continued.
“The marriage converts part of the debt into shared family equity. Once we marry, Arriaga development assets can be folded into a joint holding structure.”
I felt sick.
“Did you know?”
“For six months.”
“And you still proposed?”
“My father threatened to destroy your family.”
“You expected me to marry you to save them?”
“At first.”
“And then?”
“I found the old files.”
“What files?”
“The ones about Sterling.”
Julian stepped closer.
Mateo must have heard something.
“Is he there?”
“Yes.”
“Put me on speaker.”
I did.
Mateo said:
“Sterling, the men who attacked you twelve years ago did not work for Vance.”
Julian’s face changed.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Convenient.”
“My father paid them, but somebody else ordered it.”
“Who?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.”
I crossed my arms.
“And sleeping with Selina helped?”
Mateo sounded ashamed.
“Her father sits on the Vance debt committee. I needed access.”
“You could have talked to her without putting your tongue in her mouth.”
“Daniela.”
“No. Explain that part.”
Silence.
“I was angry.”
“At me?”
“At everything.”
“So you punished me.”
“Yes.”
At least the men around me were developing a strange relationship with honesty after betrayal.
I almost hated it more than lies.
Mateo continued.
“I put the flash drive in your apartment because I needed you to see what our parents did.”
“Why not give it to me directly?”
“Because my father has people watching me.”
Julian said:
“Then how did you get it?”
Mateo hesitated.
“My mother.”
That was new.
I had barely known Camille Vance.
Elegant.
Quiet.
Mostly absent from company events.
“My mother kept it hidden for twelve years.”
“Why?”
“Because Teresa gave it to her.”
My mother gave the evidence to Mateo’s mother.
I felt dizzy.
“Why would she do that?”
“She thought Camille would destroy it.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Mateo’s answer came softly.
“Because my mother was the one who warned Julian the night he was attacked.”
Julian went still.
“What?”
Mateo continued.
“She anonymously called your office and told you not to attend the Lakeshore dinner.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“I received that call.”
“You went anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Then she tried to stop the attack.”
“How?”
“She sent hotel security.”
“They arrived after Daniela found me.”
“Because somebody canceled the request.”
“Who?”
Mateo hesitated.
“My father.”
Silence.
There it was.
Not proof.
But shape.
I said:
“So your father knew an attack was coming.”
“Yes.”
“And my father knew Sterling was a problem.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother stole the evidence.”
“Yes.”
“What exactly were our families protecting?”
Mateo answered:
“Something called Meridian.”
Julian’s eyes changed.
I saw recognition.
“What is Meridian?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
“Julian.”
“Meridian Infrastructure Consortium.”
“Never heard of it.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
He sat down.
“It was a private coalition that financed public construction through shell partnerships. Roads. Transit depots. Hospitals. Municipal redevelopment.”
Mateo said:
“Our families were founding members.”
Julian looked at me.
“So were the Sterlings.”
That silenced everyone.
His family too.
“What?”
“My uncle was on the original board.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew Sterling Capital invested early. I didn’t know about the fraud until later.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to confirm whether my family was involved.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Every man had a noble reason for withholding exactly the truth I needed.
I grabbed my coat.
“I’m leaving.”
Julian stood.
“Where?”
“My parents’ house.”
“No.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Daniela, whoever is behind Meridian may already know you have the drive.”
“Good.”
“That is not good.”
“I’m tired of everybody telling me what I can’t handle.”
He stepped closer.
“And I’m tired of watching people walk into danger because anger feels like courage.”
The words landed.
I glared at him.
Mateo spoke through the phone.
“Don’t go home.”
I almost screamed.
“Stop giving me orders!”
Then Mateo said:
“Because your father isn’t there.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He disappeared this morning.”
My voice dropped.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“His driver found his car near Lake Michigan.”
I stopped breathing.
“Was he inside?”
“No.”
“Phone?”
“In the car.”
“Wallet?”
“In the car.”
Julian was already calling someone.
I whispered:
“Why didn’t my mother tell me?”
Mateo answered:
“Because she got a message.”
“What message?”
He hesitated.
Then:
“A photo of your father tied to a chair.”
My knees weakened.
“And a demand.”
“What demand?”
Mateo’s voice shook.
“The original Meridian ledger.”
I looked at the flash drive.
“That’s what this is?”
“No.”
“What do they want?”
“A paper ledger.”
“Who has it?”
Mateo said:
“Your mother.”
Then Julian’s security chief entered the room holding his phone.
“Sir.”
Julian turned.
“What?”
“We just received a live image from a traffic camera.”
He showed us.
My father.
Walking.
Alone.
Not tied up.
Not injured.
Entering a black SUV.
Voluntarily.
May you like
And the man opening the door for him was someone I recognized immediately.
Selina Reed’s father.
