Chapter 5 - THE MISTRESS WITH THE DIAMOND BRACELET
Vanessa Reed arrived at Ashford Global headquarters wearing a cream silk suit and a diamond bracelet.
The bracelet caught my attention immediately.
It had belonged to my mother.
My father gave it to her on their twentieth anniversary.
After she died, he placed it in a jewelry box in his private suite.
I'd never worn it.
I couldn't bear to.
Now it glittered on Vanessa's wrist.
I was attending my first meeting with the independent trustees and corporate counsel.
Vanessa appeared outside the conference room.
She smiled.
“Eleanor.”
I stared at the bracelet.
“Where did you get that?”
She followed my gaze.
“Oh.”
Her smile widened.
“Caleb gave it to me.”
My chest tightened.
“That belonged to my mother.”
Vanessa shrugged.
“Then perhaps you should have kept better track of it.”
I looked at her.
For a moment, anger burned through my grief.
Then I took a breath.
“Take it off.”
She laughed.
“Excuse me?”
“Take off my mother's bracelet.”
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“Caleb said it was his to give.”
I nodded.
“Then he can explain that to the attorneys.”
Her smile weakened.
I didn't grab her wrist.
Didn't scream.
Didn't create the scene she wanted.
I asked building security to document the encounter and informed counsel that a family heirloom might have been removed without authorization.
Vanessa left before the meeting began.
But the damage was done.
I had seen how casually Caleb treated everything connected to my family.
During the meeting, the trustees explained the structure of my father's legacy trust.
The controlling interest in Ashford Global was held by the trust.
I was its primary beneficiary and had significant governance rights under its terms.
But I couldn't simply withdraw company funds or dismiss executives at will.
The trust had independent fiduciaries.
The company had a board.
And corporate decisions required proper procedures.
I appreciated that.
My father hadn't given me unchecked power.
He'd given me protection and responsibility.
At the end of the meeting, the chair of the audit committee, Margaret Ellis, handed me a report.
“Your father asked us to preserve this.”
I opened it.
The preliminary audit had expanded.
The suspicious transactions now involved multiple subsidiaries.
Several executives.
And a consulting network linked to Vanessa.
I looked up.
“Does Caleb know?”
Margaret hesitated.
“He knows the investigation exists.”
“Does he know what you've found?”
She shook her head.
“Not everything.”
I closed the report.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Good.”
