Chapter 14 - The Woman in the White Coat
I read the threat to Miles. His jaw tightened, but he didn't slow the car.
"Turn around," I told him.
"No. We're close to the police station, and Kim's team is meeting us. I'm not disappearing because Voss sends a text."
"This isn't bravado, Miles."
"I know. For years I let fear make decisions for both of us. This time we decide together."
I wanted to believe him. At the next exit, he followed Kim's instructions and pulled into a guarded lot. Officers escorted us to the hotel an hour later, after checking the service entrances. We were not walking into another ambush.
Ruth had secured a temporary judicial order preventing the board from executing the sale until the disputed proxy and medical notice were reviewed. The meeting could continue, but its result could not close a transaction. Voss was furious.
"He'll still try to control the story," Ruth said. "He thinks he can make you look like a jealous wife and Delaney like a gold digger."
Delaney had been discharged into police protection. Before leaving the hospital, she had agreed to make a statement. She also gave us permission to use one detail of Voss's plan: a ballroom security camera that sent its feed straight to his private office.
"He wants a picture of me humiliating her," I said slowly.
"Then let him have a picture," Miles replied.
I changed into a clean black evening dress Ruth had brought from home. Over my shoulders I slipped my mother's white faux-fur coat. She used to wear it to every winter fundraiser, proudly announcing that no animal had suffered for it.
At the ballroom entrance, Delaney stood beside a service station in her burgundy vest. Under police supervision, she had returned only long enough to play her part. Her bruised forehead was hidden beneath her hair.
"Ready?" I asked softly.
Her mouth trembled. "Make it convincing."
Miles put his arm around my waist. We walked past Delaney as if we'd just won the world. I raised one finger in a rude, unmistakable farewell. Delaney opened her eyes wide, then let her serving tray clatter to the floor.
Everyone stared. Exactly as Voss wanted.
May you like
But while the camera caught my hand, it missed Delaney sliding a small white envelope into Nina's cart. Inside was the one document Voss hadn't managed to forge.
And just beyond the chandelier light, Conrad Pike stepped out of the shadows, watching Nina roll away.
