Chương 14
Evan watched.
“You really do work in compliance.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“Today I wish I sold shoes.”
His mouth twitched.
The humor vanished almost immediately.
Hailey’s phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and stiffened.
“Who is it?”
Charlotte asked.
Hailey turned the phone so they could see.
Evan’s face changed.
Curtis Vane.
Hailey whispered, “Why is he calling me?”
Evan reached for the phone.
Charlotte caught his wrist.
“Don’t.”
The phone rang again.
Then stopped.
Three seconds later, a text appeared.
Hailey read it without opening the thread.
Tell Charlotte I’d like to clear up a misunderstanding before lawyers make it ugly.
Nobody spoke.
Another message arrived.
She has documents that belong to me.
Charlotte felt the air leave her lungs.
The papers from the night before.
Curtis knew she had them.
Evan looked toward the windows.
“He shouldn’t know that.”
Hailey’s voice was barely audible.
“How does he?”
Charlotte’s first thought was Brandon.
Her second was Gertrude.
Her third was that guessing had already cost enough.
“Screenshot both messages.”
Hailey did.
“Do not answer.”
“What if he keeps calling?”
“Let him.”
Charlotte picked up her own phone and forwarded the screenshots to Marisol.
Then she called Brandon one more time.
He answered with apprehension.
“What happened?”
“Did you tell Curtis I took the documents?”
“No.”
“Did your mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ask her.”
Gertrude came onto the line almost immediately.
“I did not call that man.”
“Did he call you?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Charlotte closed her eyes.
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“Gertrude.”
“I told him you were upset.”
“What else?”
“That you took the paperwork.”
Brandon swore.
Charlotte’s jaw tightened.
“You just said you didn’t tell him.”
“I said I didn’t call him.”
“That distinction is unbelievable.”
“He already knew there was a problem.”
“How?”
“He asked whether you had seen the documents.”
Charlotte stopped.
“Before you told him I took them?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did he say?”
Gertrude hesitated.
“He asked if you had come home early.”
Charlotte looked toward the dining room.
The conversation from last night replayed differently now.
Brandon had texted that his mother was handling dinner.
The papers had been openly on the table.
The expensive meal.
The planned discussion about refinancing Gertrude’s condominium.
Maybe Charlotte had not interrupted a random family dinner at all.
“What time did you expect me home last night?”
Charlotte asked.
Brandon answered.
“After nine.”
“I came home at seven forty.”
“Yes.”
“What was supposed to happen before nine?”
Neither Brandon nor Gertrude spoke.
Charlotte’s skin prickled.
“What were you planning to do before I came home?”
Gertrude finally answered.
“Get Brandon to agree to the settlement.”
“What settlement?”
“The one Curtis offered.”
Charlotte stood very still.
“What settlement?”
Gertrude’s voice became defensive.
“He said if I could put up sixty thousand from my condominium, he would release the house.”
Charlotte looked at Evan.
Evan shook his head slowly.
“Did you see that offer in writing?”
Charlotte asked.
“No.”
“Did Brandon?”
“No.”
“So Curtis wanted sixty thousand more.”
“To settle ninety-two.”
“And you were going to give it to him.”
“I was trying to protect the family.”
Charlotte looked at the blue folder.
“No.”
Gertrude fell silent.
“You were about to give more money to the man who already had my forged signature.”
“You didn’t know it was forged by him.”
“I still don’t.”
Charlotte’s voice stayed low.
“But now I know why he expected me home after nine.”
Gertrude breathed in sharply.
Charlotte ended the call before she could hear another explanation.
Marisol called less than a minute later.
“I saw the screenshots.”
Charlotte looked at Hailey’s phone.
“He knew I had the documents.”
“Do not respond.”
“He also offered Gertrude a verbal settlement for sixty thousand dollars.”
Marisol went quiet.
“Tell me exactly what you know.”
Charlotte did.
When she finished, Marisol said, “I’m changing the letter.”
“To what?”
“A notice to preserve records and cease direct contact with you.”
“Can you make him stop calling my family?”
“I can instruct him and his entities not to communicate with you through third parties regarding the disputed property interest.”
“Will he listen?”
“I don’t know.”
Charlotte appreciated that Marisol never decorated uncertainty.
“What should I do now?”
“Gather the June ninth attendance evidence.”
“And the Saturday evidence for the second signature.”
“Okay.”
“Then send me the blue folder photos and do not alter the folder.”
“I put it in a grocery bag.”
“That is fine.”
Charlotte looked at Evan.
“What about witnesses?”
“Who?”
“Evan.”
Evan’s expression tightened.
“Potentially.”
“And Brandon?”
A longer pause.
“Your husband may be both a witness and a person with exposure.”
Charlotte felt the phrase settle unpleasantly.
“What does that mean for me?”
“It means you stop protecting him from facts.”
Charlotte looked at her bare ring finger.
She had not thought she was.
Maybe she still was.
Marisol continued.
“I want you in my office this afternoon.”
“What time?”
“Two.”
“I’ll be there.”
“And Charlotte?”
“Yes.”
“Bring the originals.”
After the call ended, Charlotte stood beside the table and looked at the papers, the blue folder, and Evan’s spreadsheet.
For the first time, the mess seemed finite.
Not small.
Not safe.
But finite.
It had dates.
It had names.
It had documents.
It had people who had made choices.
Charlotte put the blue folder beside the papers she would take to Marisol.
Then she looked at Hailey and Evan.
“Before I leave for that appointment, we are making one clean timeline from the first poker game to Curtis’s last text, and nobody gets to improve their memory just because the truth makes them look stupid.”
Hailey found a yellow legal pad, Evan opened his email, and for the next ninety minutes the three of them built the ugliest chronology Charlotte had ever audited.
Nobody became more innocent as the timeline improved.
May you like
Evan had introduced Brandon to Curtis because he wanted his own investment to succeed.
Brandon had concealed the first investment because he wanted Charlotte to admire the result without witnessing the risk.
