Chapter 11 - The Wrong Ally
Rachel stared at the payment record.
“No.”
Daniel placed it on the library desk.
“Marissa’s office address.”
“She has dozens of clients.”
“The company is registered to her brother.”
Rachel looked at Sarah.
“Could this be legitimate?”
Sarah answered carefully.
“We don’t know yet.”
Rachel called Marissa.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Ten minutes later, Marissa texted.
Do not discuss financial matters with Daniel without me present.
Rachel read it aloud.
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“She knows.”
“Maybe.”
“You’re still defending people?”
Rachel shot him a look.
“Do not confuse caution with stupidity.”
Daniel almost replied.
Then stopped.
That was Sarah’s language.
Evidence.
Not explanations.
Rachel drove to Marissa’s office herself.
Daniel did not follow.
Two hours later she returned without her lawyer.
“She resigned.”
Sarah frowned.
“From representing you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rachel placed her phone on the desk.
“I asked about the company. She said her brother had done consulting work for a Halcyon affiliate.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How much?”
“Four hundred thousand dollars.”
Sarah exhaled.
“That is not proof she participated in anything.”
“No,” Rachel said. “But she never disclosed the connection.”
Rachel looked embarrassed.
“Victor recommended her.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Of course he had.
Victor had helped Rachel choose the lawyer who would manage the divorce while pressure on Daniel increased.
Not necessarily illegal.
But strategic.
Isolation by professionals.
Sarah said, “Get independent counsel immediately.”
Rachel nodded.
“I already called someone.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“Who?”
“Not someone Victor knows.”
It was the first decision she had made against Victor without being forced.
That evening, Rachel visited Victor.
She did not tell Daniel.
But she turned on her phone recorder before entering his apartment.
New York law allowed a participant in a conversation to record it without informing the other person.
Victor poured two glasses of wine.
Rachel did not touch hers.
“Marissa resigned.”
He smiled.
“She was never strong.”
“Her brother was paid by Halcyon.”
Victor shrugged.
“For consulting.”
“You recommended her.”
“I recommend many lawyers.”
Rachel stared at him.
“My father’s statement said you created Northbridge.”
Victor’s expression did not change.
“Under coercion.”
“He said you threatened me.”
“He was protecting himself.”
“You told me Charles framed him.”
“He did, in every way that mattered.”
Rachel shook her head.
“That is not the same thing.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Rachel, your father died believing Whitmore destroyed him.”
“My father died knowing he stole money.”
“Because Charles created the environment.”
“No.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
Something changed.
The softness disappeared.
“You’re becoming sentimental.”
Rachel almost laughed.
“About fraud?”
“About Daniel.”
She stiffened.
Victor touched her arm.
She pulled away.
“Did you use me to get his signature?”
Victor studied her.
“I gave you a chance to correct a power imbalance.”
“You told me the consent was administrative.”
“You knew enough.”
“No. You made sure I didn’t.”
Victor smiled.
“Be careful.”
Rachel’s breathing changed.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s advice.”
“You have the original Martin statement.”
“No.”
“I watched you take it.”
“Then perhaps you should reconsider what you remember.”
Rachel looked at him.
For the first time, she saw the machinery behind the charm.
“What happens if the financing is enforced?”
Victor picked up his wine.
“Whitmore breaches.”
“And then?”
“Halcyon protects itself.”
“With warrants.”
“Yes.”
“You get twenty-two percent.”
“If exercised.”
“Plus the shares you bought secretly.”
Victor said nothing.
Rachel whispered, “You wanted control.”
“I wanted value.”
“And me?”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“You were necessary.”
Rachel flinched.
Not loved.
Not chosen.
Necessary.
Victor turned away.
“Daniel would have destroyed you in a divorce eventually. I was giving you leverage.”
“You gave me a crime.”
His eyes snapped back to her.
“You pressed the button.”
Rachel went cold.
“I’ll deny instructing you. Your device. Your hands. Your marriage.”
The recorder in her purse captured every word.
Victor moved closer.
“If this collapses, Rachel, Daniel loses a company.”
He lowered his voice.
“You lose your reputation, your money, and perhaps your son.”
Rachel left without answering.
In the elevator, her hands shook so badly she could barely stop the recording.
Then she saw the final notification on her phone.
Victor had transferred her $3.2 million investment out of the Halcyon side fund she had trusted him to manage.
The balance was zero.
May you like
He had not only used her.
He had made sure she could not leave without losing something.
