Chapter 3 - THE PHONE ON MY NIGHTSTAND
Rachel placed Mia’s phone inside a clear evidence pouch.
She had arrived with Marcus, the security director for my spas.
Marcus connected the phone to a portable device.
Dozens of transferred files appeared.
Client lists.
Payroll reports.
Building leases.
Supplier contracts.
My expansion proposal for a fourth location in Santa Barbara.
Mia had emailed them to an address registered under Julian’s private consulting company.
I looked through the bathroom glass.
Julian’s face had changed.
He was no longer angry because I had caught him cheating.
He was afraid because I had found the files.
“What were you planning to do with my business records?”
He folded his arms.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Mia looked at him.
“You told me she already agreed.”
Julian turned toward her.
“Stop talking.”
I stepped closer to the glass.
“Agreed to what?”
Mia began crying.
Beatrice shouted from behind me.
“Do not answer her.”
Rachel looked toward Beatrice.
“You may want to leave before you become part of a recorded conspiracy.”
Beatrice’s confidence slipped.
Mia pulled the robe tighter around herself.
“Julian said you were selling the spas.”
“I never said that.”
“He said after the anniversary, he would become managing partner.”
Rachel opened one of the documents.
It was a draft sale agreement between Caldwell Wellness Group and a private investment company called North Crest Holdings.
I owned Caldwell Wellness Group.
Julian had no legal authority to negotiate a sale.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
It was forged.
I read the price twice.
The offer was less than half the company’s actual value.
The receiving account belonged to a trust controlled by Julian and Beatrice.
Nathan stepped backward.
“You knew about this?”
Beatrice pointed at me.
“Harper was running the business into the ground.”
I almost laughed.
My spas had produced record profits that year.
I had paid Julian’s debts.
His family’s debts.
Lauren’s mortgage deposit.
Nathan’s failed restaurant loan.
Even Charles’s private medical treatment.
Yet Beatrice stood in my bedroom accusing me of financial incompetence.
Rachel examined the document.
“Who prepared this?”
Julian remained silent.
Mia answered.
“Peter.”
Lauren slowly turned toward her husband.
Peter’s face drained of color.
He was a corporate attorney.
I had trusted him with family contracts.
“You forged my signature?”
Peter shook his head.
“I only reviewed the structure.”
“You prepared the agreement.”
“Julian told me you approved it.”
Lauren slapped him.
The sound cracked through the room.
Peter touched his cheek.
“You knew he was having an affair?”
“No.”
“Did you know he was stealing Harper’s company?”
Peter looked toward Beatrice.
That was the second glance that told me everything.
Beatrice had not merely covered for Julian.
She had organized the sale.
Rachel instructed Marcus to copy every file.
Then she looked at me.
“You can open the door now.”
I entered the security code.
The lock released.
Julian stepped out wearing a towel and rage.
He moved toward me.
Marcus blocked him.
Mia remained near the jacuzzi.
Her mascara had streaked down her face.
She looked twenty years old again.
Small.
Terrified.
But I no longer saw the young woman who needed help.
I saw the person who had entered my private accounts.
Julian pointed toward the documents.
“You stole those from Mia’s phone.”
“I own the phone.”
I had purchased it.
The service plan was in my name.
Mia looked at me.
“Mrs. Caldwell, I’m sorry.”
“You were sleeping with my husband in my bathroom while helping him steal my company.”
“I didn’t know everything.”
Julian laughed.
“She knew enough.”
Mia stared at him.
He had just sacrificed her to protect himself.
That was the moment she stopped crying.
May you like
And when she spoke again, she revealed the secret Beatrice had been desperate to hide.
“Tell Harper what happened to her Stanford letter.”
