Chapter 9 - The Family Meeting
Genevieve demanded a family meeting.
Marisol told me not to go.
I went anyway.
With Marisol.
And Priya.
And a digital recorder.
We met at the Arden estate.
The same place where Bianca had taken my chair.
The ballroom was empty now.
Workers had removed the flowers.
The champagne towers were gone.
Only faint marks on the marble remained.
Genevieve sat at the family table.
Graham beside her.
Adrian across from them.
Elodie and Marcus arrived separately.
Bianca was not invited.
That amused me.
She had been family enough for my chair.
Not family enough for consequences.
Genevieve spoke first.
“This has gone far enough.”
I sat down.
“I agree.”
“We need discretion.”
“No.”
Her mouth tightened.
“Isla.”
“No.”
“You are hurting Elodie.”
Elodie answered before I could.
“Stop using me.”
The room went silent.
Genevieve looked genuinely shocked.
Elodie continued.
“You used my wedding.”
“You used Marcus.”
“You promised Isla’s condo.”
“And you let Bianca humiliate her at my table.”
Genevieve’s face hardened.
“I was protecting this family.”
“From what?”
Elodie asked.
“Honesty?”
Graham slammed his palm down.
“Enough.”
Marcus looked at him.
“No.”
Graham turned.
“You gave me your word.”
“I gave you a business guarantee based on incomplete information.”
“That is not my fault.”
“It is exactly your fault.”
For the first time, Graham looked uncertain.
Then Adrian turned to me.
“What do you want?”
I opened my folder.
“Full accounting.”
“No more access to my company.”
“No claim against the Toronto condo.”
“Withdrawal of every representation using my property.”
“Financial disclosure in the divorce.”
“And repayment of unauthorized corporate funds.”
Genevieve laughed.
“You expect us to hand you everything?”
“No.”
I said.
“I expect you to return what was never yours.”
Then Priya slid a document across the table.
A preliminary audit.
Unauthorized transfers.
May you like
$2.84 million.
Graham stopped breathing.
