Chapter 14 - The Counsel Who Looked Away
Martin Cho denied notarizing anything for Nathan or Serena.
“My seal was stolen.”
“When?” Emily asked.
“Last year.”
“Did you report it?”
Martin looked down.
“No.”
Olivia stared.
“You are general counsel of a multibillion-dollar private company and you failed to report a stolen notarial seal?”
“I was embarrassed.”
Emily almost laughed.
There it was again.
Secrecy.
Martin continued.
“I thought an assistant misplaced it.”
“Who knew?”
“Nathan.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Of course.
“What else did you hide?”
Martin bristled.
“Nothing.”
Emily looked at him.
“Do not make me learn another lesson about believing that word.”
Martin’s face changed.
He sat.
“Two years ago I found irregular consulting payments.”
“To Stonehaven?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Nathan said they were approved by you.”
“You didn’t ask me?”
“He showed me emails.”
“The forged emails.”
“Yes.”
“When did you realize?”
“After this began.”
“And you said nothing?”
“I was reviewing quietly.”
Olivia’s anger became visible.
“You allowed the board to suspend Emily while knowing documents supporting Nathan’s authority were suspect?”
“I did not know.”
“You knew enough to ask.”
Martin looked ashamed.
Emily felt rage.
Then remembered Robert’s warning.
Everyone who disappoints you becomes an enemy.
She forced herself to ask:
“Why did you hide it?”
Martin whispered, “I was afraid I would lose my license.”
There it was.
Fear.
Not loyalty to Nathan.
A weakness Serena had found.
“Did they threaten you?”
Martin nodded.
“Nathan said if I challenged the payments, he would report the missing seal and claim I had used it for private clients.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then why fear it?”
“Because once regulators start asking questions, reputation is not a technical concept.”
Emily understood the psychology now.
Nathan and Serena did not need everyone to be guilty.
Only ashamed.
Martin agreed to cooperate with outside investigators and disclose his failures to the board.
It might cost him his job.
Maybe his license.
But the conspiracy lost another secret.
Then police located Victor Sloan.
He had flown to Toronto because Serena paid him $300,000 and threatened to expose illegal surveillance jobs he had conducted years earlier.
He admitted sending the recantation email.
No kidnapping.
No dramatic abduction.
Just fear and money.
Messier.
More believable.
And useful.
Sloan agreed through counsel to provide a sworn statement describing the payment.
Bank records confirmed Serena’s transfer.
Emily’s evidence strengthened.
Then the serious setback arrived.
Outside corporate counsel issued its preliminary opinion.
Emily’s Northstar transaction consent was likely voidable if page substitution could be proven.
But until a court ruled, the document carried presumptive validity.
The board could proceed at its own risk.
Douglas Crane immediately scheduled the Hudson Crown approval vote for forty-eight hours later.
Northstar’s $156 million offer would expire at noon Saturday.
“Manufactured deadline,” Maya said.
“Effective deadline,” Olivia replied.
Emily asked, “Can we get an injunction?”
“We’re trying.”
The next blow came from the divorce court.
Nathan obtained a temporary protective order requiring both spouses to stay away from each other except through counsel after Serena claimed Emily had threatened her.
It did not determine guilt.
But headlines made it sound as if Emily were dangerous.
Nathan knew perception moved faster than legal nuance.
Then Bennett Meridian’s lenders warned that if no strategic plan emerged by Monday, additional credit restrictions might follow.
Employees panicked.
Robert called Emily.
“Several directors think Northstar is the only immediate source of liquidity.”
Emily stared out the window.
“So Nathan creates the fire and sells us water.”
“Yes.”
“Will they vote yes?”
“I think so.”
For the first time Emily truly considered defeat.
Sell the portfolio.
Preserve the company.
Fight Nathan later.
Olivia saw it.
“You are allowed to lose a battle.”
“What if Hudson Crown disappears?”
“Then you sue.”
“Years.”
“Yes.”
Emily covered her face.
People thought rich families solved problems with money.
Sometimes money merely made the battlefield larger.
That night Catherine’s archive offered one final clue.
A small handwritten note attached to the emerald necklace insurance appraisal.
The clasp was rebuilt after Richard’s mistake. Ask Gabriel what I made him hide.
Emily frowned.
“Who is Gabriel?”
Olivia stared at the name.
“Gabriel Stone.”
“Who?”
“Your mother’s jeweler.”
Emily stood.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
They found him in Boston.
Gabriel listened quietly when Emily described the necklace.
Then he said:
“You’re missing something.”
“The bank key?”
“No.”
Emily’s pulse quickened.
“What?”
“Your mother had me create a second compartment.”
“What was inside?”
“I never saw it.”
“Who did?”
“Catherine.”
A pause.
“And Richard.”
Emily gripped the phone.
“Where is the compartment?”
“Behind the emerald setting.”
Emily stared at the photograph of Serena wearing the necklace.
May you like
The necklace still held something.
Something Serena might not know existed.
