Chapter 7 - THE ADVISER WHO WORKED BOTH SIDES
Gregory Mason denied everything for approximately twelve minutes.
Then my attorney joined the call.
His memory improved.
He admitted Daniel approached him four months earlier.
Daniel said our marriage was ending amicably.
He said I had agreed in principle to sell my Hale Advisory interest.
None of that was true.
“Did you ever call me?”
Gregory looked uncomfortable.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Daniel said he was handling personal discussions.”
“You were our adviser.”
“I advised the company.”
“And me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you prepare a transaction removing me without confirming my consent?”
Silence.
Conflict of interest.
At minimum.
Maybe more issues for his professional regulators to consider.
That belonged to them.
I asked:
“Did you know Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know she was Daniel’s romantic partner?”
“No.”
That part I believed.
Daniel introduced her as a private investor.
Then Gregory disclosed something bigger.
The $1 million Hale Advisory valuation was not his original number.
His first estimate:
$3.8 million.
My chest tightened.
“What happened?”
“Daniel said several major clients would leave after your departure.”
“Why?”
“He said they were his relationships.”
They weren’t.
At least half came through my professional network.
Then Daniel asked Gregory to model a “distressed transition scenario.”
Debt.
Client attrition.
Key-person risk.
That produced the $1 million number.
He planned to create the low-value version of the company before buying me out.
Then presumably retain clients afterward.
I stared at Gregory.
“And you thought this was normal?”
“I thought it was divorce planning.”
“My lawyer wasn’t present.”
“No.”
“I wasn’t present.”
“No.”
He looked ashamed.
Good.
Then Leah found another piece.
Daniel had emailed three Hale Advisory clients telling them a “leadership transition” was coming.
He asked them to confirm they would continue working with him personally.
Two agreed.
Three refused.
One forwarded the email to Leah after hearing about the audit.
Daniel had been quietly testing which relationships he could take.
I felt something inside me become completely still.
Adultery hurt.
Financial betrayal clarified.
My attorney asked what I wanted.
“First, protect employees.”
Hale Advisory employed nineteen people.
None of them deserved chaos.
“Second?”
“Independent valuation.”
“Third?”
“Separate Daniel from financial authority pending review.”
Not forever automatically.
Governance process.
Documentation.
Then:
“Fourth, file for divorce.”
There it was.
Saying it aloud felt strangely peaceful.
I filed that afternoon.
Daniel called when he was served.
“You didn’t even talk to me.”
I almost laughed.
“You formed another company with your mistress.”
“Claire—”
“You prepared a buyout.”
“I can explain.”
“You told advisers our marriage was ending.”
“I thought it was.”
“Without telling me.”
Silence.
Then:
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if I told you before I had a plan, you’d destroy everything.”
I closed my eyes.
“You built the plan using my assets.”
“Yes.”
At least honesty had arrived.
Late.
Then he said:
“I never meant to leave you with nothing.”
“How generous.”
“I was going to give you six hundred thousand.”
“You don’t get to give me my own money.”
That stopped him.
Then Daniel said one thing that surprised me.
“Vanessa was never supposed to own thirty-five percent.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“She changed the draft.”
My pulse shifted.
“From what?”
“Twenty.”
I stared at the acquisition proposal.
Daniel had expected:
Daniel 60%.
Vanessa 20%.
Elizabeth 20%.
Someone had altered it.
“Who changed it?”
Daniel whispered:
May you like
“Vanessa.”
The mistress had been planning her own betrayal too.
