Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS
Elisa met Damon in the foundation's empty gallery at dusk. The staff had gone home. Children's artwork lined the wall, each drawing signed with a first name.
“You used to trust me,” she said.
“I trusted the reports you gave me.”
“Your money built this foundation. Mine made it run.”
“Did it run, or did it move donations into your father's companies?”
She crossed her arms. “You think a charity survives on good intentions? Land, politics, donors, vendors. That's how things work.”
“Hungry children aren't a business inconvenience.”
“Oh, spare me. You earned your first hundred million selling software to companies that laid people off. Don't pretend your hands are clean.”
The words stung because Damon had spent years wondering whether writing checks could make up for mistakes he made while building his fortune. But shame wasn't evidence, and it wasn't an excuse to look away.
“Where is Carmen Reyes?” he asked.
Elisa stared at a painted sun on the wall. “She wouldn't take the settlement.”
“What settlement?”
“An opportunity to leave quietly.”
“And when she refused?”
“You don't understand what my father will do if this collapses.”
“Then help me stop him.”
For a second she looked exhausted instead of untouchable. She opened her purse, removed a sealed envelope, and pushed it toward him.
“Take this. It explains everything.”
Inside was a signed declaration accusing Carmen of stealing foundation money and blackmailing board members. At the bottom was Carmen's name.
Damon knew her signature from the storage agreement. The handwriting didn't match.
Elisa stepped toward the door. “If you go public, this is what the world will believe.”
Damon turned the page over. A faint indentation showed through from a sheet placed above it.
May you like
It read: IF I DISAPPEAR, LOOK FOR ME AT ST. ANNE'S.
