Chapter 16 - Veronica's Last Lie
I looked at Veronica through the glass.
“You have five minutes.”
She smiled faintly.
“So much like Evelyn.”
“Don’t say her name.”
“That temper is Richard.”
I almost hung up.
Then she leaned closer.
“Your mother didn’t leave you that trust out of love. She left it out of guilt.”
“For what?”
“She planned to leave your father.”
I felt something cold move through me.
Veronica watched my face carefully.
There it was.
The old trick.
Say something painful.
Then study the wound.
“Proof?” I asked.
Her smile faded.
“What?”
“You’ve had years to learn that I react first. I’m done with that. Show me proof.”
She sat back.
“There’s a letter.”
“Where?”
“Your mother’s sewing table.”
“That was removed after she died.”
“I know.”
“Where is it?”
“Ask your father.”
I stood.
Veronica’s expression changed.
“Claire.”
“You expected me to beg.”
“She was leaving him.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“She told me.”
“Then why did you spend eight years trying to erase her?”
That landed.
Her jaw tightened.
“You think I wanted to be second place in my own marriage?”
“You knew what marriage you were entering.”
“I built that family back up.”
She gripped the phone.
“Your father chose me.”
“Yes. And now he knows who he chose.”
Her face hardened.
“You think he’ll forgive you for what happens next?”
I paused.
“What happens next?”
She said nothing.
A guard moved toward the door.
“Time.”
Veronica’s eyes stayed on mine.
“The board vote is at nine tomorrow.”
I froze.
“How do you know about the board vote?”
She smiled.
“Because Peter wasn’t the only one.”
The line went dead as the guard took the phone.
I rushed into the hallway.
Dad was waiting.
“Call the board chair.”
“What happened?”
“Now.”
He called.
No answer.
He called the general counsel.
No answer.
Then his phone buzzed.
An emergency board notice.
Meeting moved to 7 a.m.
Agenda: leadership transition.
Dad stared at it.
“They moved it up.”
I looked through the small window in the interrogation-room door.
Veronica sat calmly at the table.
She had lost access to the house.
Her money was frozen.
She was in custody.
And somehow she was still three moves ahead.
Dad whispered, “There’s someone else.”
May you like
I nodded.
“Someone we trust.”
