Chapter 9 - THE BOX VANESSA KEPT
Vanessa’s attorney arranged the meeting under strict conditions.
Emily almost refused to attend.
Raymond changed her mind.
“If she has evidence, we need it.”
Emily entered the conference room with Raymond and two attorneys.
Vanessa sat on the opposite side.
Her white cashmere coat was gone.
So was the arrogance.
But her eyes were still sharp.
Emily sat.
Vanessa looked at her stomach.
“How is the baby?”
Emily stared at her.
“Do not ask about my child.”
Vanessa nodded once.
Fair enough.
Her attorney placed a metal storage box on the table.
Raymond looked at it.
“What is this?”
Vanessa answered.
“My insurance.”
The attorney opened the lid.
Inside were flash drives, printed bank statements, copies of invoices, corporate filings, and handwritten notes.
Emily looked toward Vanessa.
“You planned for him to betray you.”
Vanessa almost smiled.
“I planned for everyone to betray me.”
Emily glanced at the records.
“When did this start?”
“Before me.”
“How long?”
“Four years.”
Emily’s eyes moved toward Raymond.
That meant Preston had started before their third wedding anniversary.
Before the affair.
Before Vanessa.
Vanessa continued.
“Preston discovered that the foundation’s vendor controls were weak because everyone trusted the Whitmore management team.”
Emily’s fingers tightened.
“He created companies.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Originally three.”
“And later?”
“Twelve.”
Raymond opened one account statement.
“Twenty-six million.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Thirty-one.”
Everybody looked at her.
“Five million never touched the vendor accounts Raymond found.”
“Where did it go?”
Vanessa looked at Emily.
“To buy back Whitmore debt quietly.”
Emily felt something cold settle inside her.
“So my mother’s foundation saved his family’s company?”
“More than once.”
Raymond’s jaw tightened.
Vanessa continued.
“Preston’s father may not know every detail.”
Harold’s involvement remained uncertain.
“But Preston knew.”
Emily leaned back.
“Why help him?”
Vanessa looked away for the first time.
“He told me he was leaving you.”
Emily said nothing.
“He told me you were married in name only.”
Still nothing.
“He said you refused intimacy.”
Emily’s expression did not change.
“He said you hated his family.”
Vanessa’s voice weakened.
“He said you were using the pregnancy to trap him.”
Emily finally spoke.
“And you believed that justified kicking me?”
Vanessa looked down.
“No.”
Emily waited.
Vanessa swallowed.
“No.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Vanessa pushed one flash drive toward Emily.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“Audio.”
Raymond looked toward her.
“Of what?”
“Preston.”
Emily stared at the drive.
Vanessa continued.
“Two months ago he started talking about removing you from the trust.”
Emily went still.
“How?”
“He wanted a doctor to declare you emotionally unstable after the baby was born.”
Raymond stood.
His chair moved backward.
Vanessa kept talking.
“He said postpartum depression would make it believable.”
Emily’s face became pale.
“He planned to use medical records to challenge my capacity?”
“Yes.”
“Who was the doctor?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then spoke one name.
“Dr. Caleb Mercer.”
May you like
Emily knew it.
Her obstetrician.
