Chapter 3 - THE INVITATION
Camille Voss received her gala invitation on Monday afternoon.
She called Oliver within four minutes.
"She invited me personally."
Oliver was sitting in his office overlooking the Chicago River.
"Of course she did. Your firm is handling publicity."
"No, Oliver. She wrote a note."
"What note?"
Camille read aloud.
"Dear Camille, I hope you'll join us for a particularly meaningful evening. I have something special planned to honor my mother's legacy. Warmly, Loretta."
Oliver felt a brief chill.
Then he dismissed it.
"Loretta writes notes to everyone."
"Are you sure?"
"Camille, my wife still thinks I'm in Minneapolis."
He laughed.
Camille did not.
She was accustomed to being the cleverest woman in the room.
But Loretta Crane had never been easy to read.
At foundation meetings, Loretta listened more than she spoke.
She rarely raised her voice.
And when someone presented an inflated budget, she could dismantle it with three questions and a pencil.
Camille had mistaken that composure for passivity.
Now she wondered whether she had miscalculated.
Oliver reassured her.
"The gala is the perfect night."
Camille looked toward the velvet jewelry box on her dressing table.
"Can I wear it?"
"Yes."
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely."
Camille opened the box.
The bracelet glittered beneath the apartment lights.
Emeralds the color of deep water.
Diamonds arranged like tiny stars.
It was exquisite.
And it belonged to another woman.
Camille fastened it around her wrist.
Oliver's voice softened.
"After Thursday, you won't have to hide."
She smiled.
"What about Loretta?"
Oliver paused.
"She'll be taken care of."
Neither of them knew that Loretta had already discovered the bracelet.
Neither knew that two independent auditors had begun reviewing the foundation's financial records.
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And neither knew that Margaret Hartwell had left behind a letter Loretta had never opened.
A letter that would change everything.
