Chapter 11 - Plan B
The video lasted four minutes and thirty-eight seconds.
I watched it once.
I will remember it forever.
Lorraine sat behind her desk in a navy suit, calm and elegant. Gavin stood near the window. A third man I didn't recognize remained off camera except for one hand.
Lorraine said, "If Danielle finds out about Serena before midnight, Marcus will panic. Keep him focused on the transfer."
Gavin replied, "And if Danielle walks?"
Lorraine smiled.
"She won't. Not in front of four hundred guests. Women like Danielle would rather bleed privately than be embarrassed publicly."
My father cursed under his breath.
The video continued.
Gavin asked, "And if she does walk?"
Lorraine's answer came instantly.
"Then we leak the clinic photos and suggest she hid fertility problems from Marcus before the wedding. Public sympathy shifts to him. She becomes the dishonest one."
My hands turned cold.
Marcus covered his face.
I looked at him.
"Did you tell your mother about the clinic?"
His voice was barely audible.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was scared. The doctor said there could be complications. I needed someone to talk to."
"So you told her my private medical information."
"I didn't know she would use it."
"That sentence should be carved on your family crest."
Tasha squeezed my hand.
The detective paused the video on the third man's hand.
A heavy gold ring with a black stone.
Dad leaned forward.
"I know that ring."
"Who?"
"Victor Lang."
Marcus looked confused.
I wasn't.
Victor Lang had tried to buy my mother's company ten years ago. She refused. He later financed several Hale properties.
Dad's voice hardened. "Your mother hated that man."
"No," Serena said. "She owed him."
She opened her laptop and pulled up a ledger.
Victor had lent Hale Hospitality five million dollars personally.
The debt came due in six weeks.
If unpaid, Victor could seize controlling shares.
Marcus stared at the number.
"She never told me."
Serena nodded toward the life insurance document.
"Maybe she didn't plan to pay him with company money."
The room went silent.
Marcus whispered, "You think my mother planned to kill me?"
The detective immediately said, "We are not making that conclusion. We have financial records and suspicious planning. That's all."
Then his phone rang.
He listened for ten seconds.
His expression changed.
"They found Lorraine's car."
Marcus stood.
"Where?"
"At your mother's house."
May you like
The detective paused.
"The front door is open, and there's blood in the foyer."
