Chương 10
Another lawyer asked whether Elena had personal conflict with Adrian when she began investigating.
“He was my husband,” she said. “There was always personal conflict.”
The lawyer did not smile.
They asked about Claudia Mercer.
Elena showed them the old meeting notes and the payments to Mercer Strategic Advisory. The committee already knew about the settlement but claimed the vendor relationship was unrelated.
“What settlement?” Elena asked.
The lawyers conferred and refused to answer.
Marcus requested a break.
In the hallway, Elena said, “They paid her.”
“Apparently.”
“For what?”
“We don’t know.”
“She raised concerns about expenses, then left, then received ninety thousand dollars through a consulting company.”
“Yes.”
“And they call that unrelated?”
“They call many things unrelated until someone proves a relationship.”
With Marcus’s approval, Elena contacted Claudia through her lawyer.
Claudia refused to speak.
Two days later, she sent a single sentence through counsel: I am bound by a confidentiality agreement and deny any knowledge of current foundation matters.
Nora read the message and threw a dish towel onto the counter.
“Everyone is bound by something.”
Elena sat at the folding table reviewing bank records. The joint funds had been moved into an account controlled by Adrian. Her divorce attorney was trying to obtain temporary financial support, but the process moved slowly.
She had begun selling clothes through an online consignment service. The designer shoes brought less than she expected. The pink bridesmaid dress remained folded on top of Nora’s washing machine because neither of them wanted to touch it.
“What would you do?” Elena asked.
Nora retrieved the dish towel.
“About Claudia?”
“About the settlement offer. If they made another.”
“You keep asking me.”
“Because I don’t know.”
Nora folded the towel over the oven handle. “I would take enough money to fix my car and then accidentally violate every confidentiality clause by yelling from the roof.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. That’s why you shouldn’t follow my advice.”
Elena looked at the rows of numbers on the laptop.
Nora sat across from her. “Do you want the money?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to say you fell?”
“No.”
“Then maybe the problem isn’t whether to settle. Maybe it’s what they require you to sell.”
Elena’s bank account was restored after nine days. The balance remained $1,870, minus the medications and legal fees Nora had paid.
She applied for jobs.
The first nonprofit thanked her for her interest and canceled the interview the next day. A recruiter told her privately that no board wanted to bring “Vale drama” into its organization. Another employer asked directly whether she was under investigation for theft.
She began waking at six even when she had nowhere to go.
Nora left for the library at eight thirty. Elena washed dishes, answered attorneys, organized evidence, and walked around the block when the apartment felt too small. She wore sunglasses even on cloudy days until the bruises faded to yellow.
At a coffee shop, two women recognized her.
One whispered, “That’s her.”
Elena left without her change.
The ordinary humiliations were harder than the loud ones. A declined card. A canceled interview. A stranger staring at her mouth. A voicemail from the apartment building saying one box had been left behind and would be discarded if she did not pay a storage fee.
At night, she missed Adrian.
She missed the version of him who sang badly while cooking, who called every dog on the street “Professor,” who once drove six hours because she mentioned wanting pie from a restaurant near Lake Michigan. The memories arrived without permission and did not include warnings.
Then she remembered the bridal suite.
Both men lived in her mind. Loving one had not protected her from the other.
A month after the wedding, Adrian violated the protective order.
He did not call or visit. He sent flowers to Nora’s apartment without a card.
The arrangement contained white roses and blush-pink ranunculus, the same flowers used at Celia’s wedding.
The florist confirmed Adrian had placed the order.
Rachel reported the violation.
Adrian’s attorney called it an administrative mistake by an assistant who selected an old address from his account. Adrian denied intending contact. No immediate arrest followed. The judge issued a warning through counsel.
Nora carried the flowers to the dumpster.
Elena stopped her.
“I want a picture first.”
She photographed the arrangement, the delivery label, and the timestamp. Then she helped Nora throw it away.
“You’re getting practical,” Nora said.
“I hate practical.”
“You’ve always been practical.”
“No. I’ve always cleaned up after people who weren’t.”
The distinction stayed with her.
Celia called that evening.
“I heard about the flowers.”
“How?”
“Dad.”
“Of course.”
“He says Adrian didn’t send them.”
“The florist says he did.”
“He says an assistant ordered them for your anniversary.”
“Our anniversary is in September.”
Celia went quiet.
“Why are you calling?” Elena asked.
“Daniel filed for an annulment.”
Elena sat down.
“I’m sorry.”
“He says the marriage began with a lie.”
“What lie?”
“That I didn’t know what happened to you.”
“Did you?”
“I knew enough to ask. I didn’t.”
Elena looked toward the kitchen, where Nora was stirring soup.
Celia continued. “Dad wants me to say Daniel is unstable. He wants the photographers’ contract enforced so none of the images can be published. He wants me to stop speaking to you.”
“And?”
“And I’m tired.”
It was not courage, but it was honest.
Celia asked to meet with Rachel present.
At the meeting, she brought a copy of the statement Conrad had asked her to sign. The draft said Elena had consumed several glasses of champagne, argued with Adrian, rejected offers of medical assistance, and threatened to expose confidential foundation information unless Adrian agreed to financial demands.
None of it was true.
“Who wrote this?” Rachel asked.
“Margaret.”
“Did your father instruct you to sign?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you what would happen if you refused?”
May you like
Celia rubbed the edge of her wedding ring.
“He said Daniel’s family would sue over the wedding expenses. He said the foundation would reconsider a grant to the hospital where Daniel works. He didn’t say it as a threat.”
