Chapter 13 - MARK FINALLY TOLD THE TRUTH
Mark did not deny it.
That surprised me more than anything else.
He looked at the transfer record.
Then at me.
“Yes.”
Jessica stared.
“You told me that account was for acquisition bonuses.”
“It was supposed to be.”
I felt something inside me settle.
Not break.
Settle.
Like concrete after years of movement.
“What did you do with five million dollars?”
Mark answered softly.
“I lost most of it.”
The room went silent.
Not stolen.
Lost.
He had started investing privately after his second promotion.
Small bets.
Then larger ones.
Technology startups.
Options.
Crypto funds.
Anything that made him feel like the visionary people had begun telling him he was.
He lost badly.
Instead of admitting it, he used money flowing through Jessica’s consulting structure to hide the losses.
Jessica laughed in disbelief.
“You used my shell companies?”
“You were using me too.”
“I never told you to take five million.”
“No.”
At least one truth.
Mark looked at me.
“I thought I could replace it before anyone noticed.”
“How original.”
He flinched.
I hated that sarcasm felt good.
I hated more that I had earned the right to use it.
He continued.
“The first transfer was eight hundred thousand. I made some back. Then lost more.”
“And the rest?”
“Gone.”
Diane covered her face.
The man everyone had applauded as a rising executive had been moving company money to hide personal losses.
Not because he was evil.
Because he could not tolerate becoming ordinary again.
I suddenly understood him better than I wanted to.
He had been unemployed once.
Ashamed.
Dependent.
Then NovaStream gave him status.
I secretly made his path easier.
He began believing the version of himself I helped manufacture.
When reality threatened that version, he stole to preserve it.
My protection had become part of his corruption.
That was my lesson to carry.
Not his excuse.
I looked at Sterling.
“Terminate Mark’s access.”
Mark closed his eyes.
“Effective immediately?”
“Yes.”
His title vanished before the gala ended.
Then I looked at Jessica.
“Security will escort you to a private room until counsel finishes preserving company evidence.”
She reached for the necklace.
“Take this.”
I stepped closer.
She placed the Star of the North into my palm.
For the first time all night, my hands shook.
My grandmother’s diamonds.
My grandmother’s secrets.
My grandmother’s warning.
Mark watched me close my fingers around it.
“Elena.”
I looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
I believed he meant it.
That was the tragedy.
Sorry came after he finally understood what he had destroyed.
Then he said:
“There’s one more thing you need to know about Jessica.”
She went pale.
Mark looked at me.
“She wasn’t the one who started the affair.”
I almost laughed.
“Does that matter?”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“But the person who pushed us together does.”
He looked toward Adrian.
May you like
“Someone paid for every hotel, dinner, and trip.”
And according to Mark, the payments came from an account in my name.
