Chapter 4 - THE SECOND PLAN
I read the sentence until my hands began shaking.
Activate the second plan.
There was no explanation.
No signature identifying its author.
Only an internal reference number and a date.
The morning of my accident.
Rachel immediately forwarded the document to Detective Bell.
Then she looked at me.
"Claire, we need to consider that someone may have targeted you because of your ownership interest."
I pressed a hand against my abdomen.
The pain was physical.
But the fear was worse.
Someone had nearly killed me.
And my unborn baby had died.
All over money?
Olivia sat beside me.
"You're staying here until we know you're safe."
I nodded.
For once, I didn't argue.
That afternoon, Vincent's chief financial officer, Thomas Grant, arrived at my attorney's office.
He looked exhausted.
"I need to speak with Claire."
Rachel refused to leave us alone.
Thomas accepted.
Then he placed a sealed envelope on the table.
"Mrs. Moretti, I've worked for your husband's company for eleven years."
I stared at him.
"Then you know how much Vanessa controls."
He nodded.
"More than she should."
"What do you want?"
He swallowed.
"To tell you that your father was right about Vincent."
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Thomas looked at the photograph of my father on my phone.
"Robert Bennett warned me years ago that Vincent would eventually lose himself in success."
Tears filled my eyes.
"He told you that?"
"Yes."
Thomas reached into his briefcase.
He removed a copy of an older shareholder agreement.
"Your father protected your shares because he wanted you to remain financially independent."
I stared at the signature.
Dad had known.
He'd seen something I refused to recognize.
Thomas continued.
"Vanessa tried to arrange the transfer without your consent. I objected."
"What happened?"
"She removed me from the merger negotiations."
My pulse quickened.
"Did Vincent know?"
Thomas hesitated.
"That's what I came to find out."
He opened another document.
A company authorization signed electronically by Vincent.
But there was a problem.
The approval timestamp showed Vincent had authorized the transfer at 9:14 a.m.
Thomas looked at me.
"According to the records, Vincent approved it while attending a medical appointment with Vanessa."
I froze.
The same appointment.
The same hospital.
The same morning I'd been bleeding in an ambulance.
Then Thomas said something that made my stomach turn.
"Mrs. Moretti, Vanessa wasn't at the hospital for abdominal discomfort."
I looked up.
"Then why was she there?"
He swallowed.
"She was undergoing a fertility consultation."
I couldn't breathe.
May you like
And then he revealed the detail that shattered what remained of my marriage.
"She told the clinic Vincent Moretti was her husband."
