Chapter 5 - The Dead Woman’s Photograph
Her name was Camille Ross.
She had been Julian’s executive assistant.
Officially, Camille had died after her car plunged into a river during a winter storm.
The vehicle had been recovered.
Her body had not.
Julian had attended the memorial service.
He had stood beside Camille’s grieving mother.
He had even paid for the funeral.
Now Elena stared at a photograph apparently taken only three days earlier.
Camille was alive.
Richard studied the image.
“Could be old.”
“The newspaper.”
Elena enlarged the background.
A newspaper stand displayed yesterday’s date.
Richard immediately called his investigation team.
Julian remained downstairs.
He had no idea Camille had resurfaced.
Elena decided to keep it that way.
At 3:06 a.m., another message arrived.
DON’T TRUST ANYONE WHO ATTENDED YOUR WEDDING.
Elena’s stomach tightened.
Her wedding had been small.
Forty-eight guests.
Almost all were members of the Ashford family or senior executives.
Richard noticed her expression.
“What?”
She showed him.
He read the message twice.
“There’s more.”
A second photograph appeared.
This one showed Julian standing beside Camille in a parking garage.
The date stamp was six months after Camille’s supposed death.
Elena felt something colder than heartbreak.
This was no longer infidelity.
It was coordination.
Richard asked the question she did not want to answer.
“Was Julian using you from the beginning?”
Elena thought about their first meeting.
A charity auction in Boston.
Julian had supposedly spilled champagne near her table.
They had laughed.
He had asked for her number.
He claimed he had never heard of Meridian Crown.
That had once seemed believable.
Now Elena remembered something else.
Three weeks before meeting Julian, Meridian had quietly begun negotiations to purchase Ashford debt.
Almost no one knew.
Almost.
Elena stood.
“I want the guest list from our wedding.”
Richard nodded.
“And every employment record for Camille Ross.”
Her phone rang.
Private number.
Elena answered without speaking.
A woman whispered.
“Elena?”
Elena recognized the voice immediately.
“Camille.”
A ragged breath came through the line.
“You need to leave the building.”
“Why?”
“Because Julian stealing money isn’t the real plan.”
Elena froze.
Camille continued.
May you like
“The real plan was always Meridian.”
Then the fire alarm began screaming.
