Chapter 14 - The Second Account
I wanted to throw the tablet into the parking lot.
Not because I didn't want the truth.
Because I was tired of truth arriving like a threat.
Tessa stood beside me, pale and frightened, while the message glowed between us.
IF SHE FINDS THE SECOND ACCOUNT, WE BOTH GO DOWN.
“Do not reply,” I said.
“I wasn't going to.”
“Screenshot everything.”
“I already did.”
That was when I realized Tessa had changed too.
Two years earlier, she had laughed when her family laughed because challenging Landon felt inconvenient.
Now her hands shook, but she was preserving evidence.
We called Elena from my office.
She told Tessa to disconnect the tablet from Wi-Fi after documenting the screen and to avoid accessing anything that required bypassing a password.
“No detective work,” Elena said.
Tessa looked almost offended.
“I watch crime shows.”
“That is exactly why I'm saying it.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
For three seconds, the fear loosened.
Then Elena asked whether Landon knew Tessa still had the device.
“No.”
“Keep it that way.”
The next day, Landon called me six times.
I did not answer.
He finally emailed.
We need to talk. This is getting worse.
I forwarded it to Elena.
Twenty minutes later, another message arrived.
Please, Harper. I am trying to keep you out of something.
I stared at that sentence.
My entire marriage had been built around Landon deciding what information would supposedly protect me.
I replied only once.
Communicate through counsel.
Then I blocked the new number he had used.
At noon, Noah arrived carrying sandwiches.
He found me sitting on the studio floor surrounded by old financial folders.
“You ate?”
“No.”
He handed me food.
“You sleep?”
“Technically.”
“What does that mean?”
“I was horizontal.”
He sat across from me.
No lecture.
No speech about taking care of myself.
He opened his sandwich.
Eventually, I opened mine.
After several bites, he nodded toward the papers.
“Anything useful?”
“Mostly proof that I keep receipts like somebody expecting an audit from God.”
“That sounds useful.”
I smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
“What if this never stops?”
He waited.
“The divorce is over. The house is sold. I built something good. And somehow I'm still sitting on the floor because Landon made another mess before I left.”
Noah folded the sandwich wrapper.
“You want me to tell you it will stop?”
“I want you to mean it.”
“I can't.”
That hurt.
It also helped.
He leaned his elbows on his knees.
“But I can tell you something else.”
“What?”
“You aren't where you were when it started.”
I looked at him.
He continued.
“You have a lawyer. Records. Friends. A business. A camera over the door. You say no faster.”
A laugh escaped me.
“You make personal growth sound like a security system.”
“Some of it is.”
That evening, Elena found the second account.
Not because of the tablet.
Because Evelyn's records showed a $40,000 repayment from a company called Mesa Heritage Consulting.
The company had never appeared in any Bellwether documents.
Its registered agent was Graham Vale.
Its authorized manager was Landon Hayes.
The account had received four transfers during the months surrounding the Bellwether proposal.
Total: $168,000.
“Where did it come from?” I asked.
“We're still determining that.”
“Did any come from Evelyn?”
“Indirectly, possibly.”
My pulse quickened.
Then Elena said something that changed the shape of the entire situation.
“Harper, there's another name associated with the company.”
“Who?”
“Sloane Bennett.”
I stopped breathing for a second.
“No.”
“She was listed as an authorized representative on the formation amendment.”
“That doesn't mean she knew.”
“No. It doesn't.”
I hated that Elena always made the responsible distinction when anger wanted shortcuts.
I had not spoken to Sloane in almost a year.
The last I knew, she had left the proposed business venture and cooperated with attorneys.
Had that been true?
Had she left one version and joined another?
Or had Landon used her name the same way he used mine?
I sent her one carefully worded email.
My attorney has identified Mesa Heritage Consulting in connection with the old Bellwether matter. Your name appears in company records. Please have your attorney contact Elena Ruiz if you have relevant information.
No accusation.
No emotional history.
No questions about Landon.
An hour passed.
Then two.
At 8:17 p.m., Sloane replied.
I expected an explanation.
Instead, there were seven words.
Harper, please do not call the police yet.
My hands went cold.
A second email arrived immediately afterward.
May you like
I didn't know what the account was for when he added me. But I know where Graham Vale is.
And I know why he is looking for you.
