Chapter 6 - THE ATTORNEY WHO WANTED AN EMPIRE
David Lorne had attended my wedding.
He had toasted Ethan.
He had hugged me at my father’s funeral.
And apparently, he had spent years positioning himself to inherit my family’s fortune.
“It doesn’t make sense,” I said.
Nathan nodded.
“Exactly.”
Marcus read the succession papers twice.
“David cannot legally become trust beneficiary simply because he files documents.”
Arthur answered.
“Unless he activates the emergency stewardship clause.”
I remembered.
My grandfather had created it after a kidnapping attempt in the 1980s.
If every immediate controlling heir became deceased or incapacitated, an approved fiduciary could temporarily control Kensington Capital until the succession dispute was resolved.
“David is approved fiduciary,” I whispered.
Arthur nodded.
“He has been for eleven years.”
The room went silent.
David did not need to inherit permanently.
He needed access.
Even temporary control of Kensington Capital meant access to billions in investments.
Enough to move money.
Approve loans.
Hide transactions.
Destroy records.
“And Ethan?” Nathan asked.
I looked away.
“He needs Kensington money.”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“How much?”
“One hundred twenty million.”
He whistled.
“Convenient.”
I hated that he was right.
Marcus’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression hardened.
“Where?”
He stood.
“We need to move.”
“What happened?”
“David is gone.”
“Gone where?”
“His apartment was cleared overnight.”
Ethan called at that exact moment.
I answered.
“What?”
His voice was breathless.
“Sophia, do not go to your office.”
“Why?”
“Because David just called me.”
Everyone stared.
“What did he say?”
“He knows you know.”
My mouth went dry.
“And?”
“He said if you vote against the Cole financing, he’ll release documents proving your father committed fraud.”
I almost laughed.
“My father has been dead eight years.”
“I know.”
“What documents?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why would David care whether my company funds yours?”
Ethan was silent.
“Ethan.”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“My CFO traced a bridge loan from eighteen months ago.”
He inhaled.
“David arranged it.”
“For Cole Dynamics?”
“Yes.”
“Who lent the money?”
Another pause.
“Kensington Capital.”
I looked at Arthur.
He shook his head.
“That loan was never approved.”
Ethan continued.
“Forty million dollars.”
Someone had already been stealing from Kensington.
Using Ethan’s struggling company as the vehicle.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“You signed it.”
“I signed a facility agreement David presented as private debt. I never saw Kensington’s name.”
I closed my eyes.
This was worse than adultery.
Ethan had betrayed me.
But someone else had built an entire criminal structure around both of us.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“My office.”
“Stay there.”
“Sophia—”
“For once in your life, do exactly what I ask.”
I hung up.
Marcus and I reached Cole Dynamics forty minutes later.
Ethan was waiting inside the boardroom.
He looked terrible.
No tie.
Unshaven.
The version of him I remembered from before success had made him cruel.
For one dangerous moment, I missed my husband.
Then Khloe walked out of his private office.
The feeling vanished.
I stopped.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ethan stood.
“She came here with information.”
Khloe held up both hands.
“I’m not here for him.”
“History makes that difficult to believe.”
Her eyes dropped.
Fair enough.
Then she placed a flash drive on the table.
“David paid me.”
Ethan stared.
“For what?”
“To get close to you.”
Silence.
Khloe’s confession came apart in pieces.
She had met David eight months earlier.
He knew Ethan from work.
He knew Khloe from a failed startup.
He offered her fifty thousand dollars to become useful to Ethan.
Flirt.
Listen.
Learn passwords.
Gain access to our apartment if possible.
“At first,” Khloe whispered, “I thought it was corporate espionage.”
“And then?” I asked.
“I fell in love with him.”
She looked at Ethan.
He didn’t respond.
“And he chose you?”
“Yes.”
Her voice cracked.
“I told myself you didn’t appreciate him.”
I almost laughed.
“You were sleeping with my husband in hotels while I washed his clothes.”
She flinched.
Good.
“But the death certificate?” Marcus asked.
Khloe shook her head.
“I found out about that two weeks ago. That’s when I realized David was planning something bigger.”
“Why didn’t you warn me?”
She looked ashamed.
“Because if Sophia disappeared, Ethan would be free.”
Ethan looked physically sick.
Khloe continued quickly.
“I didn’t think he meant murder.”
“What did you think ‘disappeared’ meant?”
“Divorce. Scandal. Something.”
Marcus inserted the drive into his laptop.
Folders appeared.
Photos.
Bank transfers.
Emails.
Then one audio recording.
David’s voice.
Calm.
Precise.
“The Cole anniversary gives us the final window. Once Sophia is publicly absent and Ethan presents Khloe as his new partner, we begin the competency argument.”
My blood chilled.
Competency?
The recording continued.
“If Sophia resists, use the medical file.”
I looked at Marcus.
“What medical file?”
Khloe began crying.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She could barely speak.
May you like
“For what we put in your vitamins.”
Everything inside me stopped.
