Chương 7
Victoria muted herself. The phrase every card Ethan gave me made her stomach tighten.
The attorney continued. “Why did you contact Victoria?”
“Because Ethan lied.”
“About what?”
Another pause.
“Most things, apparently.”
“Be specific.”
Olivia exhaled near the microphone. “He told me he and Victoria had lived separately inside the apartment for almost two years. He said the marriage continued for the company and because her mother was sick. He said they had a written financial separation.”
Victoria stared at the blank screen.
“Did you see such a document?” the attorney asked.
“He showed me pages.”
“Originals?”
“PDFs.”
“Did you verify them independently?”
“No.”
“Did they contain Victoria’s signature?”
“Yes.”
“Did you recognize it?”
“I had seen her sign event contracts.”
Victoria unmuted. “Did the documents identify which assets belonged to him?”
The attorney said, “Victoria.”
“I need to know.”
Olivia’s voice changed when addressing her directly. It lost some of its defensive speed.
“They said he controlled his equity, a family investment account, and discretionary funds connected to the company.”
“That is not an answer.”
“He told me the reserve account was funded by his financing work. He called it his capital.”
“My company had been operating for six years before he joined.”
“I know that now.”
“You worked for us. You were in the room when the anniversary presentation showed the founding timeline.”
“I thought the presentation simplified things.”
“You thought I invented six years?”
“I thought he had invested privately before he became public.”
Victoria closed her eyes. Ethan had always understood the persuasive power of invisible contribution. He could claim to have done almost anything if the work left no public record.
The attorney intervened. “Olivia, explain the cards.”
“The first was for travel. Linden had expenses, and Hale House reimbursed too slowly. Ethan said a corporate facility would keep me from carrying balances.”
“Who completed the application?”
“He did.”
“Did you sign?”
“Digitally.”
“Did you read the agreement?”
“Not every page.”
Victoria almost spoke, then stopped. The answer was too familiar.
Olivia continued. “The second card was for personal use. He said it drew against distributions from his private account.”
“How much did you spend?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Estimate.”
“Maybe four hundred thousand over a year.”
Victoria’s hand tightened around the edge of the table.
Olivia hurried on. “That includes business travel, client dinners, clothing for events, the apartment deposit—”
“What apartment?” Victoria asked.
A longer pause followed.
“An apartment downtown.”
“Where?”
“Greenwich Street.”
Victoria knew the building. Ethan had taken her there the previous summer to view a penthouse unit Hale House considered furnishing for a client program. Olivia had been waiting in the lobby with floor plans.
“Who holds the lease?”
Olivia’s voice dropped. “Linden.”
“Who pays it?”
“I thought Ethan did.”
“With what money?”
“I thought his money.”
Victoria laughed once. It came out harder than she intended.
Olivia said, “I know how it sounds.”
“No. You know how it sounds now.”
The attorney interrupted again. “Victoria, let me conduct the factual portion.”
Victoria muted herself.
Olivia described reimbursements routed through Linden, transfers labeled retainers, and an investment Ethan had promised in exchange for expanding her agency exclusively around Hale House properties. She admitted he sometimes asked her to divide invoices between entities. He said the divisions were for tax and reporting reasons. She admitted signing a consulting amendment backdated by six weeks because he told her the board had approved it late.
“Did that concern you?” the attorney asked.
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“I asked him.”
“What did he say?”
“That Victoria hated administrative noise and would blame me if I slowed the deal.”
Victoria looked at the ceiling.
“Did you contact Victoria?” the attorney asked.
“I emailed once about classification.”
“And after she referred you back to Ethan?”
“I didn’t ask again.”
“Why?”
“Because I was sleeping with her husband.”
The bluntness silenced all three women.
Traffic hissed through Olivia’s background. A horn sounded twice.
Victoria unmuted. “When did it start?”
“Which part?”
“You know which part.”
“Fourteen months ago.”
That placed the beginning two months before Victoria’s mother fell in the bathroom. Three months before the first hospital admission. Six months before Ethan began accusing Victoria of withholding affection.
“Where?” Victoria asked.
“Chicago.”
“The development conference.”
“Yes.”
“Did you come to my table the next morning?”
Olivia did not answer immediately. “Yes.”
Victoria remembered breakfast in the hotel ballroom. Olivia had placed a hand on Victoria’s shoulder and asked whether she had slept well. Ethan sat across from them buttering toast.
“That’s enough,” Victoria said.
The attorney resumed. “Olivia, did Ethan discuss moving money before last night?”
“He said Victoria had frozen one account temporarily because she was angry about us.”
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“No account was frozen two weeks ago,” Victoria said.
“He told me he moved funds to protect his share.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. He talked about a vehicle called North Quay.”
The attorney’s keyboard became audible.
“Spell it.”
Olivia did.
Victoria had never heard the name.
“Did he ask you to receive money through Linden?” the attorney asked.
“Yes. Three times.”
“How much?”
“The first transfer was six hundred thousand. The second was one-point-one million. The third was supposed to be five million, but it never arrived.”
“What happened to the first two?”
“I paid vendors he identified.”
“Which vendors?”
“I have invoices.”
“Did you retain any money?”
“Linden kept a management fee.”
“How much?”
“Ten percent.”
Victoria looked down at her hand. She had been gripping the table so tightly that the edge had marked her palm.
The attorney asked, “Did you understand those transfers came from Hale House?”
“I understood they came from an investment account connected to Ethan’s interest.”
“That was not my question.”
“No,” Olivia said. “I did not know they came from operating funds.”
“Did you ever ask for account statements?”
“No.”
“Did you ever verify North Quay?”
“No.”
“Why are you telling us this now?”
May you like
Olivia’s answer came without hesitation.
“Because when the card declined, Ethan told me Victoria had cut us off. Then he said the bank might trace everything. Those are not the same problem.”
