Chapter 13 - Sabrina Turns
Sabrina received a subpoena.
That changed her loyalties completely.
Until then, she had been helpful when it protected her.
Now she had to answer under oath.
She hired counsel.
Then she asked to meet me.
Evelyn came with me.
Sabrina chose a quiet restaurant in Oak Brook.
She arrived without makeup.
For the first time, she looked ordinary.
“I started seeing Ryan again two years ago.”
“I know.”
“He told me you were emotionally gone after the first miscarriage.”
I stared at her.
“You believed that?”
“I wanted to.”
At least that was honest.
“He said you slept separately.”
“We didn’t.”
“He said you were planning to divorce after having a child.”
“We weren’t.”
“He said you wanted the Whitmore name for the baby.”
I laughed once.
“That sounds like something he needed you to believe.”
She nodded.
“I know that now.”
Evelyn opened her notebook.
“Why Northstar?”
“Ryan said he needed assets independent from family control.”
“Did you know marital funds were used?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the trust clause?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About ten months ago.”
I looked at her.
“That didn’t bother you?”
She looked ashamed.
“I told myself it was family money.”
“And my miscarriages?”
Her eyes filled.
“I didn’t know he saw them that way.”
I believed that part.
Then Sabrina slid a small device across the table.
“What is this?”
“A backup drive.”
Ryan had kept copies of messages, contracts, and financial projections.
Sabrina took it from the Lake Shore condo after the baby shower.
“Why give it to me?”
“Because he blamed everything on me.”
She smiled bitterly.
“Apparently I seduced him, created Northstar, invented the trust plan, and forced him to lie.”
“That sounds like Ryan.”
“He also told his attorney I stole money.”
Evelyn picked up the drive.
“Did you?”
“No.”
Sabrina looked at me.
“I did something worse.”
I waited.
“I knew he was married.”
“Yes.”
“I knew you were pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And I still believed I was the woman he truly loved.”
Her voice broke.
“I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me.”
“I don’t.”
She nodded.
“Fair.”
Then she said:
“There’s a folder on that drive labeled September.”
My daughter was due in September.
“What’s in it?”
May you like
Sabrina looked directly at me.
“A plan for what Ryan intended to do after you gave birth.”
