“By whom?”
“Your guest has arranged coffee and pastries.”
I didn’t ask which guest.
I already knew.
The elevator climbed in silence.
In the mirror, I barely recognized myself.
Blue blouse.
Black trousers.
A single gold necklace Dad had given me for my twenty-fifth birthday.
I hadn’t worn it in years.
I had removed it the day Daniel left the house for the final time.
That morning, I put it back on.
As armor.
As a warning.
The elevator opened onto the executive floor.
The boardroom doors were closed.
Behind the frosted glass, I heard a voice I had never heard in person but knew from the recordings.
Claire.
I took a breath and pushed the doors open.
The room fell silent.
Daniel sat on the right, his tie loosened and dark circles beneath his eyes.
Vanessa sat beside him, still wearing the sapphire necklace.
Claire occupied the head of the table.
She wore the red coat, buttoned all the way up.
Her dark hair was pulled tightly back.
She looked at me with Dad’s eyes and Mom’s cheekbones.
“Emily,” she said.
“Claire.”
She gestured toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit.”
I remained standing.
“You wanted to tell me why Daniel married me.”
Claire smiled.
Thin.
Practiced.
“He married you because I told him to.”
Daniel tensed but said nothing.
“That old story,” I said.
“Is it old?” Claire leaned forward. “Because he didn’t fall in love with you. He never loved you. He loved the idea of having the key to Hayes Capital.”
I looked at Daniel.
He couldn’t meet my eyes.
“And you?” I asked Claire.
“I loved the idea of watching you walk into a room and believe you owned it. When all along, you were holding something that belonged to me.”
“Belonged to you?”
“My father’s money built this company.”
The room seemed to freeze.
“Your father was a witness.”
“My father was the whistleblower who exposed a network of corruption. And Richard Hayes took the evidence, buried it, and rebuilt his reputation on top of it.”
Pressure built behind my temples.
“That’s not what happened.”
“Isn’t it? Ask him.”
Dad wasn’t there.
