THE WRONG WOMAN TO BREAK

Chapter 05 - The Daughter Who Chose Him

Callie had learned to lie from her father.

That frightened Evelyn.

It also gave her hope.

For the next six hours, Grant’s office became the center of the story. Reporters gathered across the street. Board members arrived through the underground garage. Company employees received instructions not to speak publicly.

Callie remained inside.

Miriam advised Evelyn not to contact her again.

“If Grant is monitoring her phone, every message puts her at risk.”

“She’s my daughter.”

“And right now she may be your only person inside that building.”

Evelyn hated the truth of it.

Samuel arranged for her to recover at Miriam’s townhouse rather than the family estate. The modest brick house stood on a quiet street lined with maple trees and old porches. Nothing in it glittered. No rooms echoed.

That first night, Evelyn slept for four hours without dreaming.

She woke to find Miriam making coffee in the kitchen.

“You don’t have staff?” Evelyn asked.

“I had a housekeeper once. She reorganized my legal files by color. We parted respectfully.”

Evelyn laughed before she could stop herself.

The sound hurt her ribs.

Miriam poured two cups.

“You need to eat.”

“I need to know what Callie found.”

“You need both.”

Over scrambled eggs, Miriam explained the board situation.

Rowan Response Group had thirteen directors. Grant needed seven votes to return as CEO. Samuel controlled three. Grant controlled five. The remaining five directors had built careers on avoiding scandal.

“They’ll support whoever looks least dangerous,” Miriam said.

“And right now that’s Grant.”

“Right now, yes.”

A car stopped outside.

Both women froze.

Miriam checked the security camera.

Vanessa stood on the porch.

She wore dark glasses and a camel coat. No silver sequins. No champagne. She looked younger in daylight and much less certain.

Miriam opened the door but left the chain in place.

“What do you want?”

“To speak to Evelyn.”

“No.”

“I have something she needs.”

“Give it to me.”

Vanessa looked toward the camera above the door.

“Not here.”

Evelyn came into the hall.

Vanessa removed her glasses.

There was a bruise near her temple.

Not makeup.

Not old.

“Grant did that?” Evelyn asked.

Vanessa’s mouth tightened.

“You don’t get to sound surprised.”

Miriam closed the door, released the chain, and let her inside.

Vanessa remained standing.

“I didn’t know he was going to hit you.”

“You told me to apologize.”

“I knew about the recording. He said he needed proof you were unstable.”

“And you helped him.”

“Yes.”

The honesty was almost offensive.

Vanessa reached into her coat and removed a small memory card.

“The cameras record continuously, but Grant’s system uploads edited copies to the security server. The originals are stored for twelve hours on a local backup.”

“Where?”

“In the wine cellar.”

Miriam held out her hand.

Vanessa did not give her the card.

“This is only part of it.”

“What do you want?” Evelyn asked.

“Protection.”

“From Grant?”

“From your father.”

Samuel entered the kitchen from the rear study.

Vanessa’s face went white.

“I didn’t know he was here.”

“That is becoming a common sentence,” Samuel said.

Vanessa backed toward the door.

Evelyn stepped between them.

“What does my father have to do with this?”

Vanessa looked at Samuel with naked hatred.

“My mother worked for Rowan Response for eighteen years.”

Samuel’s expression did not change, but his hand tightened on the cane.

“She was injured during a warehouse collapse in Ohio,” Vanessa continued. “The company blamed her for violating safety rules. She lost her pension, her health insurance, everything.”

Samuel spoke quietly.

“What was her name?”

“Diane Vale.”

The room changed.

Miriam set down her coffee.

Samuel looked toward the window.

“You remember her,” Vanessa said.

“Yes.”

“My mother died believing your family destroyed her.”

Evelyn stared at her father.

“Is that true?”

Samuel did not answer quickly enough.