Chapter 5 - The Other Woman's Price
""We don't go to the police yet,"" Rachel said firmly over the speakerphone as Evelyn drove south on Interstate 94. ""Not with a structural sketch alone. His defense attorney will claim it was an exploratory load test for historical renovation or a discarded theoretical draft. A decent lawyer would have him out on bail in twelve hours, and then you are in genuine, unpredictable danger.""
""So what do we do?"" Evelyn’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel.
""We cut off his oxygen,"" Rachel answered. ""A man plotting murder for money is entirely dependent on his co-conspirator staying silent and the money remaining attainable. Who holds the leverage over Grant at Calder Development?""
""Brooke Hale,"" Evelyn said immediately. ""She manages the vendor allocations. But she isn't just an employee; her uncle is Arthur Calder, the chairman of the board.""
There was a pause on the line, followed by the sound of Rachel turning a page. ""Arthur Calder is notoriously conservative about corporate governance and public scandal. If Brooke is implicated in a criminal fraud scheme involving diverted corporate contracts and life insurance fraud, her uncle will throw her out of the family trust faster than she can pack a desk.""
""She sounded hesitant on that phone call,"" Evelyn recalled, hearing the echo of Brooke’s voice: You literally just told me how much she’s worth dead. ""She’s greedy, but she’s terrified of being caught in something dirty.""
""Then we make her an offer she can't survive refusing,"" Rachel said. ""Set a meeting. Not in an office. Somewhere public, controlled, and undeniable.""
At three o'clock the following afternoon, Brooke Hale walked into the conservatory lounge at the Drake Hotel, looking around with a hurried, irritated expression. She was dressed in an impeccably cut camel-hair suit, carrying an ivory designer handbag.
Evelyn was already seated in a corner banquette beneath a towering palm, a silver pot of Earl Grey steaming in front of her.
""Evelyn?"" Brooke stopped at the table, her eyes widening slightly before she smoothed her features into a bright, professional mask. ""Your assistant said you needed to consult on the catering logistics for the Calder Gala. I didn't realize we were meeting personally.""
""Sit down, Brooke,"" Evelyn said, not offering a hand, not smiling.
Brooke hesitated, sensing the drop in temperature, then slipped into the velvet chair across from her. ""Look, if this is about the floor plans—""
Evelyn placed a glossy eight-by-ten color photograph on the marble table.
Brooke froze.
It was the photograph of Grant’s handwritten card resting on the marble island in the Lake Geneva kitchen: To our beginning, Brooke. The waiting is almost over.
The color drained from Brooke’s face in a rapid, visible wave. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
""The lake house was purchased with four hundred and ten thousand dollars stolen from my joint accounts, routed through Delaware shell entities you approved as project manager,"" Evelyn said, keeping her voice conversational, almost sweet. ""Under Illinois and federal law, that is wire fraud, conspiracy, and fraudulent conveyance.""
""I... I didn't know where the money came from,"" Brooke stammered, her voice shaking violently. ""Grant said it was his private capital—""
""Shut up,"" Evelyn said softly.
Brooke snapped her mouth shut, tears of pure panic pooling in her eyes.
Evelyn placed a second folder on the table. Inside was a legal affidavit prepared by Rachel Whitmore.
""In March, Grant forged my signature to increase my life insurance to three million dollars, naming an entity you co-signed for as the beneficiary. And yesterday, I found the structural stress diagrams he drew for my brownstone balcony.""
Brooke gasped, pressing a hand to her mouth. ""No. No, he told me... he said it was just a divorce settlement! He said you were going to agree to an amicable buyout!""
""You listened to him tell you I was worth more dead than alive, Brooke. You didn't hang up the phone. You stayed in bed with him."" Evelyn leaned forward, her eyes locking onto Brooke’s with terrifying focus. ""Right now, you are thirty seconds away from being named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an attempted murder and wire fraud indictment. Your uncle Arthur will find out by five o'clock. You will lose your job, your career in this city, and your freedom.""
May you like
Brooke was sobbing quietly now, dabbing frantically at her eyes with a linen napkin. ""What do you want? Please. What do you want from me?""
""I want your cooperation,"" Evelyn said coldly. ""You are going to sign this affidavit detailing every transaction Grant funneled through Calder. And then, you are going to help me hand him the rope he is going to hang himself with.""
