Chapter 5 - Whispers Across the Water
Saturday was quiet.
At my mother’s farm in Henderson, the only sounds were the wind rustling through the sweetgum trees and the distant neighing of the two retired quarter horses in the lower pasture. Lily spent the morning sketching wildflowers on the porch, while Ben helped my mother gather early summer tomatoes from the greenhouse.
Looking at them, with their sun-kissed cheeks and clear, unburdened eyes, the knot of tension in my ribs loosened for the first time in forty-eight hours. They didn't know the world they had taken for granted was splintering. And they wouldn't feel the sharp edges of that splintering, not if I could help it.
At noon, my phone rang. The screen displayed a number from the city: Carter & Mercer Marketing.
I let it ring three times before sliding the green icon across the screen. ""Claire Holloway.""
A pause on the other end. A sharp intake of breath.
""Mrs. Holloway. It's Paige.""
Her voice was different now. The panicked, deer-in-the-headlights girl on the driveway had regained some of her corporate composure, though there was an underlying tremor she couldn't entirely mask.
""I’m surprised you're calling, Paige,"" I said, sitting down on the wooden swing at the edge of the porch. ""Usually, people in your position prefer to hide behind third parties.""
""I’m calling because Daniel told me what you're doing,"" she said, her tone hardening. ""He said you’re trying to ruin him. You went to Arthur Vance. You threatened his partnership.""
""I haven't threatened anything,"" I replied smoothly. ""I simply hired legal counsel to protect my marital interests. Whatever happens to Daniel’s partnership is between him and his ethics committee.""
""You don't understand what you're destroying,"" Paige said, and there was genuine arrogance in the way she delivered the line. ""Daniel has spent ten years carrying that firm. If you drag his personal life into the public record with Vance, the Mercer Group will pull our development contracts. We represent forty percent of his annual billings. If we leave, he loses his equity stake. You'll be destroying your own children's future just to punish him!""
I listened patiently until she finished. When she stopped speaking, I let three full seconds of silence hang over the connection.
""Paige,"" I said, my voice dripping with mild curiosity, ""did Daniel tell you that the Mercer Group's primary contract is up for renewal at the end of the third quarter?""
""Of course I know that. I wrote the preliminary RFP.""
""Did he also tell you who chairs the municipal development board that approves the zoning variances for the North Hills parcel?""
Silence.
""My father held that chair for twelve years before he passed,"" I said quietly. ""His former partner, Marcus Reynolds, holds it now. Marcus is Lily’s godfather. He comes to our home every Christmas Eve. Do you truly believe that your marketing agency has the leverage here, Paige?""
I heard her breath hitch.
""You took my dresses off their hangers to make room for yours,"" I continued, each word delivered with icy clarity. ""You drank from a mug with your name on it on a deck built with my grandmother's money. You thought you were replacing a tired housewife who didn't know the difference between an RFP and a balance sheet. But you made a fatal error, darling.""
""What error?"" she whispered, the arrogance entirely evaporated.
May you like
""You assumed Daniel was the one holding the keys.""
I ended the call without waiting for an answer. I didn't block her number. I wanted her to know that she couldn't reach me, couldn't shake me, and couldn't undo the dominoes she had helped set in motion the moment she hung her first sundress in my closet.
