Chapter 2 - The Woman Behind the Company
Brendan stared at Margaret Chen as though the woman had spoken another language.
“Majority owner of what?”
Margaret did not answer him.
Cassidy did.
“Hart Meridian Group.”
Diane laughed nervously.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Cassidy turned toward her.
Hart Meridian was a privately held logistics, infrastructure, and industrial technology company valued at just over 1.8 billion dollars.
Its trucks crossed forty-two states.
Its software managed ports, warehouses, and hospital supply chains.
Its real estate division owned hundreds of commercial properties.
For years, Cassidy had allowed the public to believe the Hart family trust was controlled by anonymous institutional managers.
Brendan had believed it too.
He knew Cassidy’s late grandmother had been wealthy.
He simply had no idea how wealthy.
More importantly, he had never realized Evelyn Hart had transferred controlling voting rights to Cassidy before her death.
Cassidy had stayed out of the spotlight because she wanted a life that felt normal.
She had attended board meetings remotely.
She had used trusts instead of her own name.
She had even encouraged Brendan’s career when he joined Meridian’s acquisitions division.
He eventually became senior vice president.
Then he began telling people he had built the company.
Cassidy had said nothing.
Now Margaret opened her tablet.
“Brendan Mercer’s corporate compensation has been suspended pending investigation.”
Brendan took a step toward her.
“Investigation into what?”
“Unauthorized transfers.”
His expression changed.
Cassidy noticed.
It lasted less than a second.
But she saw it.
Fear.
Margaret continued.
“Eleven million, eight hundred thousand dollars moved through six vendor accounts over twenty-one months.”
Diane looked at Brendan.
“What is she talking about?”
“Nothing.”
Margaret looked directly at him.
“Then you won’t mind explaining the vendors.”
Brendan recovered quickly.
“I approve hundreds of contracts.”
“Not these.”
Cassidy turned the folder toward him.
“Because four of them lead to companies registered using your mother’s mailing address.”
Diane’s face collapsed.
“My address?”
Brendan spun toward her.
“Don’t say anything.”
That sentence told Cassidy more than a denial ever could.
Sloane quietly moved toward the doorway.
A security officer stopped her.
“Ma’am, that coat is Meridian property.”
Sloane looked down.
“My coat?”
Cassidy almost smiled.
“It came from the executive wardrobe account Brendan charged as a client entertainment expense.”
Sloane ripped it off and threw it onto a chair.
“I didn’t know.”
Cassidy watched her carefully.
Sloane sounded frightened.
Not guilty.
That difference mattered.
Brendan pointed at Cassidy.
“This is revenge because I left you.”
“No.”
“You couldn’t stand seeing me happy.”
Cassidy placed a hand over her stomach.
“You threw your pregnant wife out of a company-owned house and convinced everyone she had nothing.”
Brendan stepped closer.
“You did have nothing.”
Cassidy’s voice remained quiet.
“I had you.”
That silenced him.
“And for a while, I thought that meant something.”
Margaret interrupted.
“Cassidy.”
She handed her another page.
“We traced the forged inheritance document.”
Cassidy read the metadata report.
The file had been created from a template stored on Hart Meridian’s internal legal server.
Only seven people had access.
Brendan was not one of them.
Cassidy looked at Margaret.
“So someone inside helped him.”
“Yes.”
“How high?”
Margaret hesitated.
“High enough to access documents even you were not supposed to know existed.”
Cassidy looked back toward Brendan.
He was no longer angry.
He was watching her.
Studying her.
Almost waiting for her to understand something.
Then his phone buzzed again.
A message flashed across the lock screen before he turned it over.
Cassidy caught only six words.
SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE FILE.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
DO NOT LET HER FIND THE ORIGINAL.
