Chapter 5 - The Investigator
The private investigator was named Julian Cross.
He refused to meet Sophie.
Clara subpoenaed his company records in connection with a threatened civil claim for intrusion and harassment.
That got his attention.
Julian arrived at Clara’s Napa office carrying a lawyer.
“I conducted lawful surveillance from public locations.”
Sophie sat across from him.
“Why?”
“Client instruction.”
“Margaret?”
His attorney interrupted.
“We won’t discuss privileged investigative direction beyond produced invoices.”
Clara slid one across the table.
The invoice description said:
Identify evidence of financial motive, extramarital conduct, prenatal instability, or undisclosed legal coordination.
Sophie felt sick.
“Prenatal instability?”
Julian looked uncomfortable.
“I didn’t write the wording.”
“You accepted the job.”
“Yes.”
“Did you find an affair?”
“No.”
“Financial motive?”
“No.”
“Anything suggesting I married Ethan for money?”
“No.”
“Then why did Margaret keep paying you?”
Julian’s silence answered.
Clara asked, “Were you asked to create misleading photographs?”
“No.”
“Were you asked to emphasize ambiguous conduct?”
Julian hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What conduct?”
“The meeting with Oliver Grant.”
Sophie laughed bitterly.
“My mother’s probate lawyer.”
“I didn’t know that initially.”
“What else?”
“A lunch with Daniel Reyes.”
Ethan looked at Sophie.
She frowned.
“My obstetrician’s husband? He runs my event-printing vendor.”
Julian nodded.
“Mrs. Bellamy asked whether he could be described simply as an unidentified male.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“She was preparing an affair accusation.”
Julian said nothing.
Then he produced emails.
Margaret:
Need something Ethan cannot explain away.
Julian:
There is no evidence of affair or fraud.
Margaret:
Then keep looking.
Another:
Pregnancy makes timing important. I need leverage before the anniversary board meeting.
Sophie looked at Ethan.
“Anniversary board meeting?”
His expression changed.
“Rothbridge.”
The preliminary investment vote had been scheduled for the day after their wedding anniversary.
Margaret had attacked Sophie the afternoon before Ethan was supposed to sign a term sheet.
If Ethan believed Sophie had secretly targeted the Bellamy fortune, he might support Margaret’s deal.
Clara asked Julian, “Did Margaret explain why the pregnancy mattered?”
“No.”
“Any other assignment?”
He looked at his lawyer.
Then at Sophie.
“She asked me to locate records related to the Carter Family Land Trust.”
Sophie went still.
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
Before Sophie had told anyone she was pregnant.
Before she met Oliver.
Margaret had been preparing.
“What did you find?”
“That Sophie was beneficiary.”
“Did you tell Margaret?”
“Yes.”
“Did Ethan know?”
“No.”
Ethan’s face darkened.
Margaret knew Sophie owned the underlying Carter parcel months ago.
She had said nothing.
Instead she had started surveillance.
Julian handed over another report.
VALUE EXPOSURE ANALYSIS.
If Carter Trust asserts land rights and Carter Heritage shares are restored, Bellamy family may lose effective control.
At the bottom, Margaret had handwritten:
Not if Ethan separates before disclosure.
Sophie stopped breathing.
Ethan read it.
His face became white.
“She wanted us divorced.”
Clara corrected.
“She appears to have considered separation strategically useful.”
Sophie laughed.
“Lawyers really know how to ruin a sentence.”
Outside, Ethan stood by the vineyard wall.
Sophie joined him.
He looked toward the reserve blocks planted on her mother’s land.
“I should have seen it.”
“What?”
“My mother hated you more after you got pregnant.”
“She always disliked me.”
“No. It changed.”
“Why?”
“The baby made you permanent in her mind.”
Sophie touched her stomach.
“Your mother keeps calling this child an heir.”
Ethan looked at her.
“She doesn’t think in relationships. She thinks in control.”
He took Sophie’s hand.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Rothbridge.”
“You should be.”
“I thought I was protecting you from company stress.”
Sophie pulled her hand away.
“Don’t use that word.”
“What?”
“Protecting.”
She looked at him.
“If you hide information from me because you think I can’t handle it, you’re doing a softer version of what she does.”
That hurt.
Ethan nodded.
“You’re right.”
That evening the board called.
Margaret had moved the Rothbridge vote forward.
Forty-eight hours.
Ethan protested.
Margaret replied through the board secretary:
Market conditions require urgency.
Clara stared at the notice.
“She is trying to close before we can establish Sophie’s ownership.”
Ethan said, “I can vote no.”
“You own thirty percent.”
“The employee trust may support me.”
“Maybe.”
Sophie looked at the numbers.
Margaret controlled thirty-eight.
Several minor holders usually followed her.
Ethan looked at Clara.
“What happens if the twenty-two percent is restored before the vote?”
Clara answered.
“Sophie becomes the largest swing holder in Bellamy Ridge.”
Sophie stared.
Then Clara’s phone rang.
She listened.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“The bank that handled Carter Legacy found the outgoing transfer authorization.”
“Who signed it?”
Clara looked at Sophie.
“Your mother.”
Sophie felt the floor shift.
Evelyn herself had authorized the $2.75 million transfer back into Bellamy Family Debt Reserve.
May you like
And beneath her signature was a handwritten note:
Per agreement with Margaret Bellamy.
