Chapter 9: The Safe-Deposit Box
I read the final sentence of Jessica's message again.
The original agreement was in Richard Mitchell's safe-deposit box.
Not Daniel's office.
Not my mother's estate.
Not a courthouse archive.
Ryan's father had been keeping it.
"How did you find out?"" I asked.
Jessica pushed the folder closer.
"Richard asked me to retrieve it last year.""
I stared at her.
"Why would he trust you with something like that?""
"Because I was still working for his consulting company.""
The confession settled between us.
"You continued working for him after everything that happened?""
Jessica's eyes hardened defensively.
"I needed the money. After Daniel's company survived, Richard abandoned the acquisition. The consulting contract ended, but I had already signed a confidentiality agreement. I couldn't simply walk away.""
"You could have told me.""
"Would you have listened?""
I opened my mouth.
Then I remembered the way I'd laughed at Daniel's worn suit. The way I'd described him as worthless before learning his net worth.
Jessica had known exactly what kind of person I had become.
That didn't excuse her actions.
But it made my own excuses harder to believe.
"Did you retrieve the original agreement?""
"No. Richard kept it in a private box. I only saw it because I accompanied him to the bank once.""
"Why was it there?""
Jessica shook her head.
"He said it was insurance.""
"Insurance against what?""
"Against Daniel discovering how much your mother had invested.""
I stared at her.
"That makes no sense. If my mother invested in the company, Daniel would have had records.""
"He did. But the original agreement contained a clause that wasn't included in the copy filed with the divorce petition.""
"What clause?""
Jessica reached into her folder and removed a photocopied page.
The paper was old, its edges slightly blurred.
I recognized my signature at the bottom.
Above it was a paragraph stating that any proceeds from the sale of Brooks Innovations would be distributed according to the ownership schedule attached to the original agreement.
The schedule included three names.
Daniel Brooks.
My mother, Catherine Lopez.
And me.
I felt my throat close.
"What does this mean?""
Jessica answered carefully.
"It means your mother didn't simply lend Daniel money. She arranged for both of you to receive an ownership interest if the company succeeded.""
I stared at the page.
"How much?""
"I don't know the exact percentages. The missing schedule contains them.""
"Then how do you know I have an interest?""
"Because Richard told me the document was dangerous. He said if Daniel ever found it, he could challenge the terms of the acquisition.""
I sat back.
Daniel had become a billionaire through the company he'd built.
My mother had invested in him when almost nobody else believed in him.
And somewhere in the middle, my signature had become part of an agreement I barely remembered signing.
"Why didn't Richard destroy it?""
Jessica looked at me.
"Because he couldn't. The bank's records would show that the box existed, and Daniel had a copy of the deposit receipt.""
"Then why hasn't Daniel retrieved it?""
"He didn't know Richard had it.""
The answer made my stomach twist.
For four years, Daniel had been searching for a missing piece of his own history.
Meanwhile, Richard had kept it locked away.
My phone vibrated.
Ryan.
I answered immediately.
"Ryan?""
"Where are you?""
"At a coffee shop.""
"With Jessica?""
I froze.
"How did you know?""
"She called me last night.""
I looked at Jessica. She shook her head sharply, as if warning me not to say anything.
"What did she tell you?"" I asked.
"That my father is being accused of manipulating Daniel's company, and that she has evidence he didn't know about the letter you sent.""
I almost laughed.
"That's not what she told me.""
"Emily, please. My father is furious. He's talking about hiring investigators and filing a lawsuit.""
"Against whom?""
"Jessica. Possibly Daniel.""
I glanced at the documents on the table.
"Ryan, your father has the original ownership agreement.""
Silence.
Then Ryan said, "What?""
"The agreement my mother signed with Daniel. The one that could determine who owns part of Brooks Capital.""
He breathed sharply.
"How do you know that?""
"Jessica told me.""
Another pause.
"Don't do anything until I get there.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Jessica began gathering the papers.
"You shouldn't have told him.""
"He's my husband.""
"Not legally, perhaps.""
The cruelty of the remark shocked me.
Jessica looked away immediately.
"I'm sorry.""
"No. You're right. We don't even know what my marriage means anymore.""
She closed the folder.
"Emily, listen to me. Richard is going to protect himself. He'll say the original agreement was irrelevant, that your mother was making a private investment, and that I acted alone. He has lawyers who can bury this in paperwork for years.""
"Then we need the original.""
"Yes.""
"How?""
Jessica hesitated.
"I know the bank.""
I stared at her.
"You want me to break into a safe-deposit box?""
"No. I want you to convince Ryan to ask his father for the document. If Richard refuses, Daniel's attorneys can pursue it through the proper legal channels.""
I studied her face.
For the first time, I could see how frightened she was.
Not just of losing her job.
Of being exposed.
"Why should I trust you?""
"You shouldn't," she said.
The honesty caught me off guard.
"But the evidence is real. Verify everything yourself.""
Before I could answer, Ryan appeared at the coffee shop entrance.
His hair was damp from the rain, and his expression was tight with anger.
He walked straight to our table.
"Jessica, give me the folder.""
She held it against her chest.
"Ryan, you need to understand—"
"My father called me this morning. He says you've been blackmailing him.""
Jessica laughed bitterly.
"Of course he does.""
Ryan reached for the documents.
She pulled them away.
"Don't touch them.""
"Then tell me what you want.""
Jessica looked at me.
"I want the truth to come out.""
Ryan turned toward me.
"Emily, we need to talk. Alone.""
I stood slowly.
"About your father?""
"About everything.""
He led me outside, beneath the coffee shop's narrow awning. Rain tapped against the pavement, and traffic hissed along the wet street.
Ryan looked exhausted.
"My father admits he hired Jessica for market research. He denies asking her to access your email or interfere with Daniel's financing.""
"Do you believe him?""
He hesitated.
"I don't know.""
I studied his face.
"That's the first honest thing you've said about him.""
Ryan winced.
"I deserve that.""
He took a breath.
"My father also told me something else. He says Daniel's company wasn't the only business he tried to acquire that year.""
"What does that have to do with us?""
"He says he approached your mother about investing in one of his funds.""
I stared at him.
"My mother would never have trusted him.""
"Apparently, she refused.""
Ryan looked down at his hands.
"And afterward, my father believed she had helped Daniel secure the investment that saved Brooks Innovations.""
The pieces shifted in my mind.
My mother had invested in Daniel.
Richard had wanted control of Daniel's company.
Jessica had interfered with the financing.
And my divorce had never been finalized.
"Ryan," I whispered, "what if the ownership agreement was the reason your father kept pursuing Daniel?""
He looked toward the street.
"Then we need to find out what the agreement says.""
A black sedan pulled up beside the curb.
The rear window lowered.
Richard Mitchell sat inside, wearing a dark overcoat and an expression of absolute composure.
"Ryan," he called.
"Get in the car.""
Ryan stiffened.
"Not until you explain why you're holding Emily's mother's documents.""
Richard's eyes shifted to me.
For the first time, I saw something in his expression that I had never noticed at our engagement dinner.
Fear.
Not much.
Just enough.
"Those documents are part of a confidential business matter," he said.
"They concern my mother," I replied.
Richard looked at me for a long moment.
Then he opened the car door.
"Very well. I'll explain everything.""
Ryan didn't move.
"Here?""
Richard's jaw tightened.
"No. Somewhere private.""
He glanced at me again.
"And Emily, I strongly suggest you come. Because there is one fact Daniel hasn't told you.""
My pulse quickened.
"What fact?""
Richard's expression hardened.
"Your mother didn't merely invest in Brooks Innovations.""
May you like
He leaned forward.
"She was the person who made Daniel promise never to tell you the truth about why he married you in the first place.""
