Chapter 15 - The ChairmanThe name was Gregory Collins.
Our uncle.
Chairman of the Collins Design board.
The man who was supposed to give the toast at my reception.
I stared at Andrew.
“No.”
He did not argue.
Maya showed me Martin’s statement.
Gregory had approved the first vendor contracts.
Gregory introduced Martin to North Bridge.
Gregory knew Vanessa owned it.
And Gregory benefited through a separate consulting agreement.
Vanessa had not invented the fraud.
She had joined it.
That did not absolve her.
It made the room larger.
I looked toward the ballroom.
Uncle Gregory was laughing with guests.
Holding champagne.
Waiting to toast my marriage.
Andrew said:
“Do not confront him.”
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because you are in a wedding dress, not a badge.”
Fair.
Maya and her team handled it.
Gregory was asked to step into a side office.
He refused.
Publicly.
Bad choice.
“What is this nonsense?” he demanded.
Guests turned.
He pointed at me.
“Claire, control your people.”
Something inside me went still.
My people.
As if everyone existed to protect the family image.
I walked toward him.
“No.”
His face reddened.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not controlling anyone.”
He lowered his voice.
“Your mother would be ashamed.”
That used to work.
Not anymore.
“My mother audited you.”
His expression changed.
There it was.
Maya stepped forward.
“Mr. Collins, we need to speak privately.”
Gregory looked at Vanessa.
Just once.
She looked away.
That tiny moment said enough.
Later, Martin’s files showed Gregory had taken more than Vanessa.
Nearly four million dollars over six years.
Vanessa’s North Bridge company had received about nine hundred thousand.
Some she spent.
Some she passed through.
Some went back to Gregory.
Why had Vanessa risked everything for him?
The answer came from another message.
G: You want the CEO chair permanently? Prove you can protect the company.
V: From Claire?
G: From weakness.
My chest tightened.
Gregory had taught Vanessa the same lesson she had spent her life teaching me.
Love was competition.
Approval had to be won.
Someone always had to lose.
Then Andrew found a final clause in my mother’s trust amendment.
If any beneficiary committed fraud against the company, that beneficiary’s voting rights could be suspended pending adjudication.
Vanessa’s attorney read it.
Then whispered something to her.
May you like
Vanessa looked across the room at me.
And for the first time, she looked afraid.
Related Stories
