Chapter 10 - The Second Phone
I didn't trust Everett's sudden confession. I trusted the fact that he'd been cornered.
Ruth asked the investigators to pursue records through proper legal channels. We didn't break into Vanessa's accounts or hunt through her purse. There were already enough problems without creating new ones.
An employee from the gala contacted Ruth. Her name was Celia, and she'd been assigned to Vanessa's table. She remembered the argument because Vanessa had left a phone charging behind a floral display while using another to pose for pictures.
“I heard her tell someone, 'The announcement goes out after the ring,'” Celia said. “I didn't understand what ring she meant until I saw the video.”
Ruth wrote down the exact words and asked Celia to keep her own account of what happened.
The company investigators soon discovered the same device had authenticated vendor records from Wardbridge's network on the night of the gala. The records pointed again toward Meridian Creative Advisory.
Meanwhile, an old friend called to warn me that gossip columns were preparing a story about my medical history. Everett had spent years telling people I was unable to have children. The truth was private, complicated, and never anyone else's business.
I drafted a statement, deleted it, and wrote a shorter one: My marriage is ending. I will not discuss private medical matters or a child's parentage in public. Please respect everyone affected.
June read it and nodded. “That's enough.”
At midnight, a courier delivered a sealed folder to Ruth's office. Inside were copies of invoices, a schedule of payments, and one handwritten note.
May you like
LOOK AT THE BOARDING PASSES. DIANE AND VANESSA WENT TO THE SAME PLACE THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE GALA.
The destination was Zurich, where a Wardbridge subsidiary had just reported a missing equipment deposit.
