Chương 4
“Why was Maya involved?”
“I asked her to help me collect statements.”
“You asked your nurse to investigate financial fraud?”
“I asked the only person in this house who noticed when a number changed.”
Adrian gave a harsh exhale. “You could have called Martin.”
“Martin reports to you.”
“He’s the family accountant.”
“He plays golf with your partners.”
“That doesn’t make him corrupt.”
“No. It makes him comfortable.”
Adrian walked to the window. Beyond the lawn, the ambulance’s tire marks were visible in the pale gravel of the drive.
“And Maya accepted money from Vanessa.”
Charles closed his eyes.
“You knew that too.”
“She told me.”
“Why?”
“Vanessa offered her ten thousand to resign and sign a confidentiality agreement.”
“She took it.”
“Her sister was being evicted.”
Adrian faced him. “So she accepted hush money.”
“She deposited a check. Then she returned the full amount two days later.”
“How?”
“She borrowed against her car.”
“That doesn’t improve the judgment.”
“No,” Charles said. “It explains the shame.”
Adrian thought of Maya apologizing as the paramedics wheeled her past him.
“What happened today?”
Charles’s face seemed to age as Adrian watched.
“Maya was going to give you the records.”
“Why today?”
“Because I told her you would be home.”
“You knew my meeting was canceled?”
“Your assistant called Vanessa.”
Adrian’s phone vibrated. His assistant’s name appeared on the screen.
He ignored it.
“Did Vanessa know Maya was coming into the office?”
“I don’t know.”
“You arranged this.”
“I asked Maya to put the documents where you would see them.”
“Without telling me.”
“You don’t see what people tell you.”
The cruelty of the sentence lay in how calmly Charles delivered it.
Adrian stepped closer. “You had evidence of theft carrying my signature, and instead of calling me, the bank, or counsel, you sent an injured nurse into a room with Vanessa?”
“She wasn’t injured when she went in.”
Leah said, “Mr. Cole, your blood pressure—”
“Take it later.”
Adrian’s voice sharpened. “No. Take it now.”
Charles gave him a look of almost paternal amusement. “There you are. A problem with a cuff, and suddenly you can act.”
Adrian left before he said something he would not be able to withdraw.
He called Daniel Price from the kitchen.
Daniel answered on the second ring. “I heard.”
“From whom?”
“Vanessa used the station phone. I’m on my way.”
“I’m not calling to retain you.”
“That’s clear.”
“She asked for you.”
“I represent her unless a conflict appears.”
“A conflict has appeared. I’m a witness.”
“Yes.”
“There may be financial crimes involving my electronic signature, my father’s trust, and the family foundation.”
Daniel was silent.
“Are you there?” Adrian asked.
“I’m adjusting the size of the problem.”
“You will not represent me.”
“I hadn’t planned to.”
“Vanessa may try to make me part of her defense.”
“She may.”
“She said, ‘She was going to expose us.’”
Daniel sighed softly. “Don’t tell me anything else.”
“I’m giving you notice.”
“You’re giving me evidence I may be ethically required not to hear.”
“You’re already hearing it.”
“And now I’m telling you to stop.”
Adrian looked across the kitchen at a bowl of lemons Vanessa replaced every Friday whether anyone had eaten them or not.
“Tell her not to contact me.”
“I’ll advise her.”
“Not through friends, staff, family, or anyone at my firm.”
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“She’s frightened.”
“So was Maya.”
Daniel waited.
Then he said, “Get your own lawyer before sunset.”
The call ended.
Adrian’s assistant rang again.
This time he answered.
“Mr. Cole, I’m sorry,” Nina said. “I didn’t know whether to keep calling.”
“What happened at the office?”
“Nothing. I saw police vehicles at your address on a local account, and a reporter from the Ledger called reception asking whether Mrs. Cole had been arrested.”
“How long ago?”
“Seven minutes.”
He checked the time. Barely an hour had passed since the door opened.
“Tell reception no comment. Tell communications not to issue anything under my name. Cancel tomorrow’s meetings.”
“All of them?”
“All.”
“What should I tell Mr. Vale?”
Julian Vale was Adrian’s law partner and closest professional friend. He had stood beside Adrian at the wedding and given a toast about marrying ambition to beauty, a line that had seemed clever at the time.
“Tell him I’ll call.”
“He’s in your office.”
Adrian looked toward the hallway, toward the closed home office door.
“At the firm?”
“Yes. He said he needed a file from your desk.”
“What file?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
Adrian’s skin cooled.
“Nina, listen carefully. Do not let him remove anything from my office.”
“He’s a named partner.”
“Call building security.”
There was a pause. “Should I call you back?”
“No. Stay on the line.”
He walked toward the mudroom, grabbed his car keys, then stopped.
Police had instructed him not to disturb the home office. His father was recovering from a stroke. Maya was in the hospital. Vanessa was in custody. Driving forty minutes into the city because Julian might be searching his desk felt both necessary and suspiciously convenient.
“Nina, take a photograph of the office door from the hall. Do not go inside. Ask security to preserve hallway camera footage. Send me a written account of what he requested.”
“Okay.”
“And Nina?”
“Yes?”
“Use your personal phone for the photograph. Do not send it through firm email.”
Her breath caught.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
It was the first lie Adrian told that afternoon.
He called an attorney named Rachel Kim, who had once represented a general counsel accused of hiding export-control violations. Rachel did not flatter clients, did not attend charity galas, and had told Adrian over lunch the previous year that most powerful men believed cooperation meant arranging the terms of their own confession.
“I need counsel,” he said.
“Civil, criminal, or professional?”
“Yes.”
“Give me one sentence.”
“My wife was arrested for assaulting my father’s nurse while trying to stop her from showing me financial records bearing my signature.”
May you like
Rachel did not react audibly.
“Do not go to your office,” she said. “Do not call your partner. Do not access any financial account you think may be involved. Do not delete, forward, or annotate messages. Photograph the front and back of every device you currently possess, then stop touching anything except the phone you’re using.”
