Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK
Victoria made bail the next morning.
By noon, she was on television.
She wore cream, no jewelry, and just enough makeup to look tired but composed.
“I loved Alexander,” she told a reporter. “I still do. What happened with his mother was a terrible accident after an emotional confrontation.”
At the mansion, Alexander watched from the study.
Evelyn sat beside him with tea.
Victoria continued.
“Mrs. Parker has never accepted me. I hope she gets the medical care she needs.”
Alexander reached for the remote.
Evelyn stopped him.
“No. Watch.”
“Why?”
“Because liars tell you what they’re afraid of when they think they’re controlling the story.”
Victoria said she had nothing to do with the Reed Foundation and barely knew Grant Bell.
Marcus paused the broadcast.
“That’s useful.”
“Why?” Alexander asked.
“We have hotel security footage of her meeting Bell seven times.”
Evelyn smiled. “See? Let her talk.”
That afternoon, federal investigators joined the financial case.
The flash drive Grant provided contained months of encrypted messages. Most used initials, but context made the identities obvious.
V was Victoria.
N was Nolan.
G was Grant.
One message discussed “A’s medication.”
Another mentioned a doctor named Kessler.
Marcus found Dr. Evan Kessler within an hour. He was a neurologist on the Reed Health advisory board.
And three weeks earlier, one of Nolan’s shell companies had paid him $240,000.
Alexander felt his stomach turn.
“Bring him in.”
“We can’t,” Marcus said. “He boarded a flight to Zurich this morning.”
Alexander slammed his fist against the desk.
Evelyn flinched.
He immediately regretted it.
“Sorry.”
She studied him. “You’re still trying to beat fear by being louder than it.”
He sat down.
The front gate called.
“Sir, Ms. Lane is here.”
Alexander stood so quickly his chair rolled backward.
“She’s what?”
“She says she needs ten minutes. She came alone.”
Marcus reached for his weapon.
Evelyn said, “Let her in.”
Both men looked at her.
“Mom, absolutely not.”
“She wants something.”
“She nearly killed you.”
“And now she’s desperate.”
Evelyn set down her tea.
“Desperate people make mistakes.”
Ten minutes later, Victoria entered the same lobby where she had pushed Evelyn.
She looked at the staircase, then at Alexander.
“I can give you Nolan Pierce,” she said.
Alexander’s expression stayed cold.
May you like
Victoria took a breath.
“But first, you have to protect me from him.”
