Chapter 12
The meeting took place in a secure interview room at the state attorney’s office.
Glass wall.
Two cameras.
Detective Ortiz on the other side.
Margaret beside me.
My father was not allowed in.
He hated that.
I was grateful.
Richard entered with Martin Hale.
For one second, I saw the same man from the restaurant.
Expensive suit.
Controlled expression.
Eyes that expected the room to belong to him.
Then he looked at my face.
The bruise had turned yellow around the edges.
His jaw tightened.
Not guilt.
Annoyance.
Like my injury was evidence inconveniencing him.
He sat.
“Emily.”
“Ms. Bennett.”
Martin touched Richard’s arm.
Richard ignored him.
“You’ve caused quite a mess.”
I stared.
“I caused it?”
“Your family did.”
Margaret said, “If this is how your client intends to proceed, we’re finished.”
Richard leaned back.
“I’m willing to tell you what Victor Shaw has been doing.”
“In exchange for what?”
“You ask prosecutors to treat Friday as a misunderstanding.”
I almost smiled.
“A misunderstanding where your hand misunderstood my face?”
Martin closed his eyes briefly.
Richard’s temper flickered.
“I lost control.”
“For the first time?”
Silence.
I thought of Claire.
He knew exactly what I meant.
“That’s irrelevant.”
“No.”
My voice lowered.
“It’s the most relevant thing about you.”
His eyes hardened.
Margaret said, “Talk about Victor.”
Richard looked toward the camera.
Then back at me.
“Victor has been stealing from Bennett Capital for years.”
“Proof?”
“I have records.”
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Police searched your safe.”
“Not that one.”
Martin shifted.
Apparently even he had not known.
Richard smiled slightly.
“I built companies in Chicago for twenty-seven years. Did you really think I kept everything in my house?”
“What did Victor steal?”
“Fees. Side payments. Deal percentages.”
“From you?”
“From everyone.”
“Why pay him?”
Richard stared.
“Access.”
“To my father?”
“To Bennett.”
My stomach twisted.
“How long?”
“Since before he joined the firm.”
Margaret asked, “Did Victor assist you in obtaining the 2014 Bennett loan?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Richard smiled.
“Your father wanted to say no.”
That surprised me.
I looked at Margaret.
Richard saw it.
“Elaine wanted to kill the deal immediately.”
My throat tightened.
“She was smarter than all of you.”
I hated hearing him say her name.
“What did Victor do?”
“He buried concerns.”
“Where?”
“In committee reports.”
Margaret’s pen stopped.
“Altered underwriting?”
“Yes.”
“Fraudulently?”
Richard shrugged.
“Depends how dramatic you want to sound.”
I wanted to hit him.
I didn’t.
“Did my father know?”
“No.”
Relief came too quickly.
Then Richard added, “But he didn’t ask enough questions.”
That sounded true.
I forced myself to continue.
“Why were you watching me before Friday?”
Richard’s face changed.
Martin said, “We’re not discussing unrelated allegations.”
“It’s very related.”
Richard looked at me.
“Victor said you controlled the trust.”
My skin went cold.
“You knew?”
“I knew Elaine had done something inconvenient.”
“Did you know I was successor trustee?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“Why did that matter?”
“Because Victor was preparing for your father to become difficult.”
Margaret said, “Preparing a takeover.”
Richard smiled.
“Call it whatever you want.”
“And me?”
“You were the unknown variable.”
I could hear my heartbeat.
“Did you come to the restaurant because I was there?”
Martin interrupted.
“Richard.”
Richard ignored him again.
“Yes.”
My hands went cold under the table.
“You knew I worked there?”
“I knew you sometimes played waitress.”
Played.
Like work was costume jewelry to him.
“Did you plan to hit me?”
For the first time, he hesitated.
“No.”
“Then why come?”
“To see you.”
“Why?”
“Victor said you were emotional.”
I laughed once.
“My mother was called emotional too.”
Richard’s mouth tightened.
“He said if your father withdrew the loan, you might pressure him to reconsider if the conflict became personal.”
I stared.
“What conflict?”
“A dispute.”
“You came to manufacture one?”
Martin stood.
“This interview is over.”
Richard raised a hand.
“No.”
He was angry now.
Not at me.
At Victor.
“He told me to create pressure.”
“What kind?”
“A scene.”
My stomach turned.
“You were supposed to humiliate me?”
“Enough to cause a problem.”
“And then?”
“We’d claim Bennett retaliated by cancelling financing.”
Margaret whispered, “Jesus Christ.”
I asked the question anyway.
“The slap?”
Richard’s face hardened.
“That wasn’t planned.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You insulted me.”
There it was.
The real Richard.
No strategy.
No excuse.
Just entitlement.
“You thought I was a waitress who couldn’t fight back.”
He said nothing.
“You thought you could hurt me because you believed I didn’t matter.”
His jaw clenched.
“That’s not what happened.”
“It is exactly what happened.”
I stood.
Martin said, “Ms. Bennett—”
I looked at Richard.
“You want me to help you?”
He stared back.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to trade pieces of the truth for forgiveness.”
His expression darkened.
“You need what I know.”
“The police need it.”
I moved toward the door.
Richard suddenly said, “Victor knows where Claire is.”
I stopped.
Margaret turned.
“What?”
Richard smiled.
A tiny, ugly smile.
“He knows.”
I walked back to the table.
“How?”
“Because your security system still has a leak.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
Richard leaned back.
“Now we negotiate.”
I stared at him.
Then pressed the button on the table.
Ortiz entered.
Richard’s smile disappeared.
I pointed at him.
“He just stated that a suspended Bennett executive knows the protected location of a witness.”
Ortiz looked at Richard.
“Is that true?”
Martin stood.
“My client is done.”
Ortiz ignored him.
Richard realized his mistake.
For once, arrogance had cost him.
Ortiz left immediately to contact Claire’s protection team.
I followed her into the hallway.
My father was waiting.
“What happened?”
I told him.
His face changed.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Claire.
May you like
Only four words.
Someone is outside again.
