Chapter 5 - THE MISTRESS WHO WASN'T SUPPOSED TO FALL IN LOVE
Lila agreed to speak when her attorney realized she might be involved in securities fraud.
She chose a conference room.
Neutral location.
No Camden.
No cameras.
She arrived without the scarf.
Good.
“I gave it to Nora,” she said before sitting.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I know.”
That almost sounded like growth.
Then I asked:
“Why did Marcus introduce you to Camden?”
Lila stared at her hands.
“My family lost a lot when your father refused the Voss deal.”
“That was ten years ago.”
“My mother never got over it.”
“Neither did you?”
“I was eighteen.”
Fair.
She continued.
“Marcus contacted me last year. He said Camden wanted investors for an aviation acquisition.”
“Which acquisition?”
“Pierce Aero.”
I laughed.
“He already runs it.”
“Marcus said he didn’t control enough of it.”
There it was.
Lila had been introduced as a potential financial bridge.
She connected Camden to an investment group tied to her mother’s family.
Then the relationship became sexual.
Her responsibility.
His responsibility.
But the original contact was business.
“What did Marcus promise?”
“If Camden gained controlling voting rights, Voss Capital would finance a buyout.”
“Of me.”
She looked ashamed.
“Essentially.”
Then I asked:
“The scarf.”
Her eyes dropped.
“He gave it to me.”
“I know.”
“He said it was new.”
I believed her.
Not because she deserved automatic trust.
Because Camden lied professionally.
Lila continued.
“Last night at the hangar, I thought you were staff because…”
She stopped.
“Because?”
“Camden told me you had stepped down.”
I stared.
“He said you were being removed from the company after a mental-health leave.”
I actually laughed.
Of course.
There it was.
The oldest trick.
Discredit the woman before taking her authority.
“Did he show you paperwork?”
“Yes.”
She opened her phone.
A board resolution.
My name.
Temporary incapacity.
Medical leave.
Not real.
But polished.
My signature absent.
The board secretary’s signature forged.
Lila looked sick.
“I believed him.”
“You wanted to.”
“Yes.”
Good.
Then she said:
“There’s something you should know.”
“What?”
“Camden doesn’t think the succession document is enough.”
My pulse changed.
“What else?”
“He said if the board believed you were medically unfit, he could invoke emergency executive authority while you were alive.”
I felt cold.
“He was preparing to remove me.”
“Yes.”
“With what medical evidence?”
Lila hesitated.
Then:
“Your prescription records.”
I stared.
“I don’t take prescription medication.”
“That’s what I thought.”
She pulled out a photograph.
Pharmacy records.
My name.
Anti-anxiety medication.
Sleep medication.
Mood stabilizers.
None mine.
Someone had created a medical history in my name.
Then Lila whispered:
“Camden said after the Zurich flight, everything would be ready.”
I looked at her.
“Ready for what?”
She swallowed.
“For the board meeting Friday.”
Three days away.
May you like
A board vote to declare me temporarily incapacitated.
And Camden already had fake medical evidence waiting.
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