Chapter 6 - The Deal Daniel Should Have Refused
Detectives authenticated the photograph’s metadata cautiously.
It had been taken at 11:42 p.m. outside Caroline and Daniel’s former Hollywood Hills home.
Nine hours later Caroline crashed.
But the image did not show anyone tampering with the vehicle.
Bianca’s lawyers called it meaningless.
Daniel wanted it to be more than that.
Wanting was dangerous.
So he forced himself to focus on what could be proven.
Financial investigators traced the anonymous messages to a cloud account once used by Adrian Cross’s former paralegal, Leah Monroe.
Leah had disappeared from legal practice five years earlier.
Not physically.
Professionally.
She left California, changed industries, and moved to Oregon.
Daniel contacted her through an investigator.
She refused to speak.
Then Lily found another clue.
Caroline’s headphones contained a sticker inside the band.
Three handwritten numbers.
14-7-22.
Daniel assumed a date.
Lily shook her head.
“Mom used numbers for songs.”
Daniel remembered Caroline’s habit.
She catalogued studio tracks by reel, channel, take.
Reel 14.
Channel 7.
Take 22.
The recording would be somewhere in Hale Soundworks’ old archive.
Eric found it.
A session from six years earlier.
No music.
Only room tone.
Caroline had secretly routed a phone conversation into the studio board.
Adrian’s voice:
“You need to stop asking questions.”
Caroline:
“Did Bianca access the trust?”
“Yes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
A direct admission.
Adrian continued:
“But she was looking for leverage, not planning to hurt Lily.”
“Why Daniel?”
“Because Hale Soundworks was vulnerable.”
“What does she want?”
“She thinks Daniel’s company can become a platform for a roll-up.”
Daniel frowned.
Bianca had been planning to enter his business before Caroline died.
Caroline:
“Then she can buy stock like anyone else.”
Adrian laughed.
“She doesn’t want stock. She wants control.”
“How?”
“Through you.”
Caroline went silent.
Adrian continued.
“If something happens to you, Daniel becomes emotionally unstable. Bianca gets close. She helps him. He trusts her.”
Daniel stopped the recording.
Grace whispered, “He predicted your marriage.”
“No.”
Daniel felt sick.
“He described their plan.”
He forced Eric to continue.
Caroline said:
“If you know this, why are you helping her?”
Adrian replied:
“Because she has copies of records that can destroy me.”
Blackmail.
Not loyalty.
Not love.
Bianca controlled Adrian too.
The recording ended before revealing more.
Daniel called Leah Monroe again.
This time he left a message.
“I know Adrian was being blackmailed. If Bianca has something on you too, I can’t promise immunity. But I can promise I’ll give whatever you tell me directly to investigators.”
Leah called back an hour later.
“What do you know about the Aurora deal?”
Daniel sat up.
“What about it?”
“Don’t sign.”
“Why?”
“Bianca has beneficial ownership in one of Aurora’s acquisition vehicles.”
His entire body went cold.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s hidden through three entities.”
“How do you know?”
“I helped Adrian create them.”
Daniel looked at Peter.
Peter began writing.
Leah continued.
“Bianca doesn’t just want your marital property.”
“She wants Hale Soundworks.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Caroline’s twenty-two percent of Reed Media includes veto rights over certain audio licensing deals. Bianca wants to combine Hale Soundworks’ catalog with Reed’s licensing portfolio.”
Daniel understood.
Lily’s inheritance was not merely money.
It was strategic control.
Aurora wanted both.
Bianca could deliver Hale Soundworks through Daniel.
And Reed influence through Lily.
“What happens if I refuse to sell?”
Leah answered:
“Your lender accelerates the debt.”
“Controlled by whom?”
“A fund called Ashcroft Capital.”
Daniel had heard the name.
Leah whispered:
“Bianca owns part of it.”
Another trap.
Daniel had borrowed money from his wife without knowing it.
He looked at Peter.
“Can she force foreclosure?”
“If the covenants are valid.”
Daniel’s phone buzzed.
An email from Ashcroft.
NOTICE OF DEFAULT.
Hale Soundworks had allegedly breached a financial-reporting requirement.
Payment of $31 million demanded within ten days.
May you like
Daniel stared.
Bianca had stopped waiting.
