Chapter 9 - THE SECOND PHONE
The first phone belonged to Adrian.
The second one did not appear on any family account.
Police found it in his study safe while executing a warrant the next morning.
By then I was at the hospital.
Ethan finally won that argument.
No fractures.
Severe bruising.
Ligature injuries.
A doctor photographed everything.
I hated the camera.
I let them do it anyway.
Evidence was not humiliation.
It was memory that could not be talked out of existence later.
Marcus arrived around noon.
"They found a burner phone."
"Vanessa?"
"And Barbara. And someone named Grant Ellis."
I knew the name.
Grant was Bennett-Cole's chief financial officer.
My stomach tightened.
"Show me."
The messages were worse than the affair.
Vanessa: SHE STILL HASNT SIGNED THE TRUST AMENDMENT.
Barbara: PUSH HER AFTER THE BIRTHDAY. SHE'LL BE EMOTIONAL.
Grant: BOARD VOTE NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE Q3 REPORTING.
Adrian: ONCE EVELYN IS OUT, HER VOTING BLOCK GETS CHALLENGED.
I read the line three times.
"Out how?"
Marcus scrolled.
A draft strategy document answered me.
They intended to argue that I had become mentally unstable under stress and should be temporarily removed from active voting control under a rarely used incapacity clause in the trust governance documents.
They needed medical evidence.
Public incidents.
Witnesses saying I was erratic.
The wine spill suddenly looked different.
So did the birthday party.
"They wanted me to explode," I whispered.
Marcus nodded.
"Vanessa provoking you. Adrian humiliating you. Guests watching. If you attacked either of them, they would have a narrative."
Instead, Adrian lost control.
Not me.
Then Marcus reached the last message.
Grant: IF SHE DOESNT BREAK, WE USE THE VIDEO FROM THE POOL HOUSE.
I looked at him.
"What video?"
May you like
Marcus's expression hardened.
"That's what Daniel is trying to find now."
