Chapter 11 - JENNA
Jenna Coletti had worked for Richard for six years.
She scheduled his flights.
Managed his private calendar.
Tracked his passwords.
Ordered anniversary flowers for Khloe.
Booked Vanessa's hotel rooms.
And apparently touched the envelope used to return Khloe's missing passport.
Police questioned her the next morning.
By noon, she had hired a lawyer.
By two, her lawyer called Harrison.
"My client wants to talk."
Harrison looked at Khloe.
"About what?"
"Everything."
The meeting happened that evening in Harrison's office.
Jenna entered wearing a black coat and no makeup.
She looked terrified.
Khloe recognized her immediately.
Jenna had stood beside Richard at charity galas.
She had brought Khloe tea during long office visits.
Once, after the first miscarriage, Jenna had sent flowers with a handwritten card.
Khloe remembered the words.
Thinking of you with love.
Now Jenna could barely meet her eyes.
"Mrs. Harrington."
Khloe's voice was quiet.
"Khloe."
Jenna nodded.
"I'm sorry."
Khloe did not answer.
Harrison's tone remained formal.
"Your attorney says you have information relevant to financial records, property access, and Ms. Harrington's passport."
Jenna looked at her lawyer.
He nodded.
"Richard told me to get the passport from the house."
Khloe went still.
"When?"
"The night before you left."
Harrison asked,
"How did you enter?"
"Gate code."
"House key?"
"Richard kept one in the office."
"Did Khloe know you had access?"
"No."
Jenna's voice shook.
"I thought it was for travel paperwork."
"He said his immigration lawyer needed a copy for a possible family trip after the baby was born."
Khloe closed her eyes.
Another lie wrapped around a reasonable explanation.
Harrison asked,
"Why did you take the original rather than a copy?"
"Richard told me to."
"What did you do with it?"
"I brought it to the office."
"Then?"
Jenna's hands tightened.
"Vanessa came in."
Khloe opened her eyes.
"To Richard's office?"
"Yes."
"She saw the passport on his desk."
"They argued."
"About what?"
Jenna looked toward Khloe.
"You."
Harrison leaned forward.
"Be specific."
Jenna swallowed.
"Vanessa wanted Richard to file immediately."
"Richard said he needed more time to finish moving assets and secure the Eastbank financing."
"Vanessa said Khloe would run to Harrison."
"Richard said he could make Khloe look unstable if necessary."
Khloe's face lost color.
Jenna continued because stopping now seemed impossible.
"Vanessa asked what would happen if you left."
"Richard said you couldn't leave the country without your passport."
"Vanessa picked it up."
"She asked whether you would notice it was gone."
"Richard told her to put it down."
Harrison asked,
"Did she?"
"Yes."
"Who took it after that?"
Jenna looked down.
"I put it in Richard's locked desk drawer."
"Why?"
"He told me to."
"Who later removed it?"
"I don't know."
"But you mailed it back."
Jenna nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Because after the deposition, Richard told me if anyone asked, I had taken it on my own to update travel files."
Khloe stared at her.
"He was going to blame you."
Jenna nodded.
"And the computer wipe."
Harrison's voice sharpened.
"What about it?"
"He told me the same thing."
"He said if the log came back to his credentials, I needed to say I had used them to clean old devices."
"Did you initiate the wipe?"
"No."
"Did you see him do it?"
"Yes."
The room fell silent.
Jenna began crying quietly.
"He did it from his office."
"He said Daniel had taken company secrets."
"He said if I wanted my job, I would forget what I saw."
Harrison looked at Jenna's attorney.
"Your client understands this information may be relevant to a court preservation violation and possibly other proceedings?"
The lawyer nodded.
"She understands."
Jenna spoke again.
"There is more."
Khloe felt something inside her tighten.
"What?"
Jenna looked at her.
"The medical leak."
Harrison went still.
"Explain."
"Richard asked me to find the name of the counselor Khloe saw after the second miscarriage."
"He said his lawyer needed background for custody issues."
Khloe's voice cracked.
"Custody?"
Jenna nodded.
"He asked for appointment dates too."
"I found old calendar entries."
"Then a public relations consultant came to the office."
"I heard them discussing how to create a narrative before the asset hearing."
Harrison's face became terrifyingly calm.
"Name the consultant."
Jenna did.
Mara searched immediately.
The consultant had previously worked on reputation campaigns for corporate executives facing misconduct allegations.
Khloe sat back.
The cruelty finally had a structure.
Richard had not merely responded to bad press.
He had helped manufacture it.
He had taken her grief, categorized it, and handed it to a professional as material.
Jenna looked at Khloe.
"I should have quit."
Khloe's eyes burned.
"Yes."
Jenna flinched.
Khloe did not soften the answer.
"You should have."
"You should have told me."
"You should have refused to help him collect my private history."
Jenna cried harder.
"I know."
Khloe took a slow breath.
"But you are telling the truth now."
"So keep telling it."
The meeting ended after midnight.
Harrison walked Khloe to her car.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
"Physically?"
"Fine."
He looked at her skeptically.
"I'm seeing Dr. Morris tomorrow."
"Good."
Khloe stopped beside the car.
"He was preparing a custody narrative before the baby was even born."
Harrison said nothing.
"Harry, he wanted to call me unstable and then take my daughter."
Harrison's jaw tightened.
"He could ask."
"That doesn't mean he would succeed."
"But he planned it."
"Yes."
Khloe looked toward the city lights.
"I keep thinking I've found the worst thing."
"Then there is another room behind it."
Harrison's voice softened.
"That is how long deceptions work."
"You don't discover one lie."
"You discover a system built to keep the first lie standing."
Khloe rested a hand on her stomach.
"Then we take down the system."
The following morning, Dr. Morris listened to the baby's heartbeat.
Strong.
Steady.
Khloe closed her eyes in relief.
"She is doing well," Dr. Morris said.
"But your blood pressure remains higher than I like."
"I can reduce work."
The doctor gave her a pointed look.
"Your life is currently appearing in newspapers."
Khloe almost smiled.
"Fair."
"I want more rest."
"Less court if possible."
"And if you have headaches, vision changes, severe swelling, bleeding, or contractions, you call me immediately."
Khloe nodded.
On her way out, she saw a familiar woman in the waiting area.
Vanessa.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Vanessa looked exhausted.
Her pregnancy was more advanced than Khloe's.
A nurse called her name.
Vanessa stood, then hesitated.
"Khloe."
Khloe turned.
"What?"
Vanessa's eyes dropped.
"I didn't leak your medical information."
Khloe believed her.
That almost made it worse.
"Richard did."
Vanessa's face changed.
She had not known.
Khloe saw it instantly.
"Ask him."
Then she walked away.
May you like
By noon, Richard's carefully separated worlds had begun collapsing into each other.
