Chapter 15 - The Recording

The man in the dark coat was not carrying a gun.

He was carrying a phone.

He worked for a tabloid site and had been paid for our location.

By whom, no one could prove.

Marcus shoved him back. The detectives escorted him outside while cameras flashed through the church windows.

Within twenty minutes, a tabloid headline called it a "Christmas meltdown."

"Efficient," I said from the back seat.

Miriam, on speakerphone, sounded furious. "Do not respond publicly."

"I wasn't planning to."

"Good."

"I was planning to buy the website and fire everyone."

There was a pause.

"Also don't do that."

Back at Mercy, the nurse checked me. Another false start. My daughter was apparently determined to make her entrance dramatic but not punctual.

Daniel stayed in another room under police protection while Miriam copied the hard drive.

At 6:12 p.m., we played the recording.

Roman's voice filled the room.

"If Savannah refuses, we delay the birth announcement. We say she is recovering and unreachable."

Victor asked, "And the vote?"

"We use the proxy."

"If she denies signing it?"

"By the time she can make noise, the merger is filed. Then it's litigation. Litigation takes years."

Victor laughed. "You really think she'll stay quiet?"

Roman answered, "She has spent six years staying quiet."

I closed my eyes.

That sentence hurt because it was true.

Then Victor asked, "What about the kid?"

Roman paused.

"The child keeps her tied to me."

Margaret covered her mouth.

I did not cry.

Something inside me became very still.

Miriam stopped the recording.

"That's enough."

"No," I said. "Play the rest."

The last minute was mostly numbers. Accounts. Dates. One mention of Harrow. Then Roman said something that changed everything.

"Once Northstar closes, Savannah's trust gets absorbed into the family office. She won't know the difference."

Miriam stood so fast her chair hit the wall.

"He can't absorb the trust."

"Then why say it?"

"Because somebody prepared documents that make him think he can."

She opened her laptop.

Three minutes later, she found a filing made that morning.

May you like

She Tried to Kill a Disabled Woman at a Billionaire’s Pool Party—But One...

She had already lost her leg. Now, they were trying to take her life.At a luxury mansion filled with millionaires, a terrified you...

THEY DECLARED HER DEAD—THEN ORDERED HER CREMATED WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALI...

They were about to burn her alive.Her death certificate had already been signed. Her body was scheduled for immediate cremation. A...

She Pushed a Pregnant Woman in a Wheelchair Into the Pool—Then Her Husba...

She was pregnant. She was in a wheelchair. And the woman standing behind her was smiling.Seconds later, one brutal shove sent her...

Roman had petitioned an emergency court for temporary control of my financial affairs, claiming I was medically impaired.

And the hearing was scheduled for 9:00 a.m.