Chapter 14 - Leonard’s Price
Leonard wanted immunity.
Prosecutors would not give it.
He wanted a reduced sentence.
They would discuss it.
He wanted protection from Adrian.
That interested everyone.
Nathan was permitted to attend part of the cooperation meeting as a victim and corporate representative, though his lawyer did most of the talking.
Leonard looked diminished without his boardroom.
"I never approved violence," he said.
Claire was not present.
Nathan's jaw tightened.
"You approved pressure."
"Financial pressure."
"You helped forge her signature."
"I drafted a transfer."
"You knew she hadn't signed."
Leonard looked away.
Nathan leaned back.
"Stop separating yourself from what happened."
Leonard's attorney interrupted.
Rebecca silenced Nathan with one look.
Prosecutors continued.
Leonard admitted Adrian had hired Russell Kane to monitor Whitmore family members.
Adrian wanted Rose's records.
He feared the Evelyn claim because early Meridian Crown capital could be traced to funds Margaret had diverted from Rose's trust.
"Was the money stolen?" a prosecutor asked.
Leonard answered carefully.
"Legally disputed. Ethically indefensible."
Nathan almost admired the precision.
"Why Project Harbor?" Rebecca asked.
"To settle."
"Explain."
"Adrian wanted the Grand. Margaret wanted money. Thomas wanted money. The board wanted liquidity. The acquisition agreement included broad releases."
"Including Evelyn claims."
"Yes."
"If Claire signed."
"Yes."
Nathan's hands tightened.
Leonard continued.
"Once Margaret failed to get Claire's signature, Adrian panicked."
"Did he order the break-in?"
Leonard hesitated.
"Yes."
There it was.
"Did he order the threat to Diane?"
"I don't know."
"Did he know Claire had been restrained?"
Leonard looked at Nathan.
"Afterward."
"What did he say?"
Leonard swallowed.
"He said Margaret had become a liability."
Nathan felt no satisfaction.
Margaret had been useful until she wasn't.
Exactly how she treated others.
Leonard handed prosecutors an encrypted email archive.
It contained Project Harbor side agreements.
Adrian's communications.
Payments.
Instructions.
One message stood out.
Sent the morning after Ava was born.
Congratulations to the family. Now get control of the child's vote before Edward's amendment becomes operative.
Nathan stared.
His daughter's birth announcement had triggered a financial operation.
Another message:
Claire is the weak point. Margaret says she can handle her.
Nathan closed his eyes.
Claire had not been weak.
That was why she ended up chained.
He left the room before he lost control.
Outside, he called her.
"I need to tell you something."
"What?"
He read the message.
Silence.
Then Claire said, "They thought I was weak."
"Yes."
She laughed once, bitterly.
"I spent years thinking your mother hated me because I wasn't sophisticated enough."
Nathan leaned against the wall.
"She feared you because you wouldn't surrender."
Claire was quiet.
Then she said, "Come home."
Nathan froze.
She had not used that word for weeks.
"Home?"
"To Mom's. Ava's awake."
It was not a full reconciliation.
But he went.
That evening they sat on Diane's porch.
Ava slept against Nathan's chest.
Claire looked at the baby.
"What happens if everything collapses?"
"The company?"
"All of it."
"We still have enough."
She smiled slightly.
"That's a very rich-person answer."
"Fair."
Nathan thought.
"We could lose control. Maybe a lot of value."
"And?"
"And I'd survive."
"Would you?"
He looked at her.
A month earlier he was not sure.
Now he was.
"Yes."
Claire nodded.
"Good."
His phone rang.
Susan.
She sounded shaken.
"Adrian moved the timetable."
"What?"
"Meridian Crown has called a lender meeting. They claim Whitmore Hospitality breached covenants by failing to close the Grand sale."
"Can they do that?"
"They bought part of our mezzanine debt yesterday."
Nathan stood.
Claire saw his face.
Susan continued.
"They're trying to force a liquidity crisis."
"How long?"
"Ten days."
Nathan looked at Ava.
Adrian had failed to obtain the baby's vote.
So he was trying to make the vote irrelevant.
May you like
If Whitmore Hospitality faced default, the board might be forced to sell the Grand regardless.
The conspiracy had entered its most dangerous phase.
