Chapter 8 - Blood Is Not Proof
The silence after Thomas spoke was worse than a scream.
Grace had helped raise me after my father died.
She had protected my mother's company through recessions, lawsuits, and the long illness that ended her life.
I wanted to defend her before I even understood the accusation.
Instead, I asked Thomas for evidence.
He produced old billing records showing payments from Meridian to a firm in which Grace once held a minority stake.
Grace did not deny that the payments existed.
She said the firm had performed legitimate due diligence before her ownership ended.
The dates supported part of her explanation.
They didn't settle everything.
Thomas believed she had known Julian before I did.
Grace insisted she had met him only at the failed investment pitch.
Their accounts disagreed on three months.
I asked Grace to provide her records to independent counsel and temporarily relinquish approval authority over Northstar's disputed transactions.
The request wounded her.
“You think I'm capable of this?” she asked.
“I think I love you too much to investigate you myself,” I answered.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She signed the temporary delegation without another word.
For the first time since my mother's death, I felt the weight of being alone inside a room full of advisers.
Meanwhile, Julian went to the press with a new allegation.
He claimed I'd orchestrated a campaign to make him unemployable because I couldn't accept his decision to end our marriage.
He omitted the fact that he hadn't actually filed for divorce before the gala.
My lawyer prepared a response with the narrowest verifiable facts.
I refused a public contest over who had been the worse spouse.
The company could not survive being turned into our personal theater.
Then Serena Price arrived at Elena's office with her own attorney.
She acknowledged incorporating Harborstone and Eastbridge.
She claimed Camilla had asked her to do administrative work and Julian had supplied the invoice language.
She denied receiving most of the funds.
A bank examination showed her statement was plausible.
Large deposits had departed her company's accounts within hours.
“Who told you where to send them?” Daniel asked.
Serena held a printed email.
The sender address used a domain associated with an old Northstar portfolio company.
It was not proof that Northstar authorized the payments.
But it was a calculated way to make the accusation stick.
Serena lowered her voice.
“I kept a backup of everything because I was afraid they'd blame me.”
“Who are they?” I asked.
She pushed a small drive across the table.
May you like
“The people who've been taking money from Aurelia since before Julian was hired.”
