Chapter 2 - THE WIFE HE NEVER KNEW
Dominic followed me into the library.
“Everybody out.”
Richard stayed.
Dominic looked at him.
“I said everybody.”
Richard poured himself a bourbon.
“I heard you.”
“This is between my wife and me.”
I removed my wedding ring.
“No.”
Dominic stared at it in my palm.
“You asked for a divorce.”
“That's not what I mean.”
“I know.”
I placed the ring on the table.
“That has been our problem for years. What you mean always matters more than what you say. What I mean rarely matters at all.”
Vanessa entered.
“Dominic, reporters are asking—”
“Get out.”
Her face changed.
“Excuse me?”
“Now.”
I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
She left.
Dominic turned back.
“Explain.”
So I did.
My mother, Eleanor Hale, had been an accountant from Milwaukee who built a freight brokerage with Richard in the early 1990s.
They sold it for $84 million.
Instead of living extravagantly, they created Mercer-Hale.
The trust bought distressed industrial debt.
But with conditions.
Worker protections.
Pension guarantees.
Environmental remediation.
Community investment.
By the time my mother died, the trust controlled billions in assets.
I inherited voting authority at twenty-eight.
One year before meeting Dominic.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Second date.”
He frowned.
“I told you my mother left me a trust.”
“You said it wasn't relevant.”
“To whether you wanted another date.”
“You made it sound small.”
“No, Dominic. You assumed it was small.”
That landed.
Richard quietly left.
Dominic and I stood alone.
“Eight years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you depended on me.”
“I never said that.”
“You lived in my house.”
“Our house.”
“I paid for it.”
“Actually, Mercer-Hale owns thirty-two percent of the bank that holds the mortgage.”
His expression was almost funny.
Almost.
“You're enjoying this.”
“No.”
That surprised him.
“I wanted tonight to happen differently.”
“How?”
“I wanted my husband to listen when I warned him about Halcyon.”
“You could have told me you controlled the debt.”
“And then what?”
“I would have listened.”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
“If Evelyn your wife wasn't worth listening to, why should Evelyn the trustee have to buy your attention?”
He had no answer.
His phone started vibrating.
Board members.
Lawyers.
Bankers.
Dominic ignored all of them.
“Are you taking my company?”
“No.”
“You threatened my ports.”
“I protected 4,800 pensioners you were about to expose to Halcyon's liabilities.”
“It's business.”
“So are pensions.”
“You don't understand—”
He stopped.
The words had almost escaped.
You don't understand.
Again.
I smiled sadly.
“Finish that sentence.”
He couldn't.
I walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You're staying at the penthouse?”
“You wanted me gone by morning.”
“I was angry.”
“No. You were finished.”
“Evelyn.”
I turned.
“Vanessa?”
His face hardened.
“What about her?”
“Was it ten months?”
Silence.
“Longer?”
“Evelyn—”
“How long?”
“Eleven.”
That hurt more than I expected.
“Did you love her?”
He hesitated.
And somehow that hurt less.
“I don't know.”
“Did you love me?”
His answer came immediately.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“That's worse.”
I left.
Richard was waiting outside.
He didn't ask if I was okay.
One reason I loved him.
He simply said, “Your room is ready.”
“I don't want the Mercer.”
“Good. I booked you somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“The Lakeshore Motor Inn.”
I stared.
He smiled.
“You looked like you needed perspective.”
“You're horrible.”
“You're rich. You'll survive bad carpeting.”
I laughed for the first time that night.
Then a man stepped from the shadows.
Tall.
Forty.
Navy suit.
I recognized him.
Daniel Cross.
Vale Maritime's chief legal officer.
“Mrs. Vale.”
“Daniel?”
He looked nervous.
“I need to speak with you before Dominic finds out I'm here.”
Richard's expression changed.
“About what?”
Daniel handed me a flash drive.
“Halcyon isn't Dominic's biggest problem.”
My stomach tightened.
“What is?”
“Someone inside Vale Maritime has been moving money through shell companies for six years.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the ballroom.
“I thought it was Dominic.”
“And now?”
“Now I think someone designed it to look like him.”
He pointed at the drive.
“The final authorization carries your electronic signature.”
I stared at him.
“I've never signed anything for Vale Maritime.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Daniel swallowed.
May you like
“That is what got my predecessor killed.”
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