Chapter 11 - THE SERVICE I NEVER RECEIVED
I had assumed a process server left them with someone at the penthouse.
Apparently not.
The signature belonged to my executive assistant.
Megan Cole.
She accepted service three weeks earlier.
Then marked the envelope confidential and placed it in my private office.
I never saw it.
“Why?” I asked.
Claire looked at me.
“She was helping me.”
My anger rose.
“You involved my assistant?”
“She came to me first.”
Of course.
Everyone came to Claire first.
Maybe because she listened.
Megan had discovered Peter accessing my calendar, emails, and electronic signatures.
She suspected fraud.
She also knew about Vanessa.
She contacted Claire.
Together, they documented everything.
When divorce papers arrived, Megan ensured legal service was complete.
She then placed the papers exactly where I should have seen them.
My office desk.
I didn't.
Because I hadn't used that office in weeks.
I had been spending more time at Vanessa's apartment.
The irony almost deserved applause.
“So the court considered me served.”
“Yes.”
“And I ignored it.”
“You ignored your office.”
Fair.
But Peter's accusation implied more.
“What haven't you told me?”
Claire hesitated.
Then:
“I asked Patricia to request expedited finalization.”
“Why?”
“Because once Peter realized I had Robert's declaration, I expected him to freeze my accounts or challenge my legal standing.”
“So you needed the divorce final first.”
“Yes.”
“That's it?”
“No.”
I waited.
Claire looked tired.
“There was another reason.”
Of course.
She had received a medical diagnosis.
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Not cancer.”
I hadn't realized how afraid I was until she said it.
“A heart condition.”
Hereditary arrhythmia.
Treatable.
Manageable.
But she needed a procedure.
Soon.
She had delayed it while finishing the case.
I stared at her.
“You were sick?”
“I am not sick in the way you're thinking.”
“You needed surgery.”
“A procedure.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
Claire laughed softly.
“Daniel, you were sleeping with Vanessa.”
That shut me up.
Then she said something worse.
“I did try to tell you.”
When?
The restaurant dinner I canceled.
The weekend trip I rescheduled.
The night she waited in my study while I told her I had a late board meeting.
I had been with Vanessa.
Claire had carried the diagnosis alone.
Again, I had mistaken silence for peace.
“When is the procedure?”
“Next week.”
My first instinct:
I'll be there.
I stopped before saying it.
Claire noticed.
Good.
Instead:
“Do you want me there?”
She looked surprised.
“No.”
It hurt.
But I nodded.
“Okay.”
That answer changed something.
Small.
Not forgiveness.
Respect.
Then federal investigators approached.
Peter had started talking.
Not because he regretted anything.
Because he wanted a deal.
He revealed Owen Price's body location.
He implicated Arthur.
Dr. Reeves.
Two board members.
Three city officials.
Then one final name.
Vanessa Brooks.
I looked at her.
She had confessed to helping after Milwaukee.
But Peter claimed something else.
May you like
Vanessa wasn't merely a witness.
According to him, she had been the one who first suggested using my affair to control me.
