Chapter 12 - Carmen Was Never the Top of the Chain
For thirty-four years, Zayden imagined Carmen as the controlling force in every room.
Jonathan destroyed that assumption in one sentence.
Carmen reported to someone.
J.
Jonathan explained that New Horizons had never been merely Carmen’s operation.
The foundation connected wealthy families, attorneys, physicians, private investigators, and intermediaries.
Some wanted legitimate privacy.
Others wanted problems erased.
Birth fathers.
Medical histories.
Inheritance complications.
Unwanted publicity.
“Carmen learned quickly,” Jonathan said. “Information was worth more than money.”
“She blackmailed people?”
“Sometimes.”
“And J?”
“Managed the records.”
“Who?”
“I never met him under the same name twice.”
“Male?”
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“Everything went through Richard Vale.”
“Vale is dead.”
“Which means J became more careful.”
Zayden remembered the message.
Your son cannot find Forty-Seven.
Whoever J was had been watching Carmen.
Possibly directing her.
“But Carmen targeted Jessica herself,” Zayden said.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she needed leverage.”
“Against J?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Carmen has spent years trying to get out.”
The revelation was almost absurd.
The woman who controlled everyone was controlled by someone else.
That did not make her a victim in Zayden’s eyes.
It made her more dangerous.
A desperate person with no moral line.
Federal investigators confronted Carmen with selected evidence.
Not everything.
Enough.
Fake psychiatric records.
Stolen documents.
Fraudulent financial transfers.
The plan involving Olivia.
Her attorney immediately requested private consultation.
For five hours, nothing happened.
Then Carmen asked to speak with Zayden.
Investigators advised against it.
He agreed anyway.
The meeting occurred through glass.
Carmen wore beige jail clothing instead of red silk.
Her hair remained immaculate.
Her expression did not.
“You look tired,” she said.
Zayden stared at her.
“You burned my daughter.”
“I never intended—”
“You starved her.”
“I disciplined her.”
“She’s five.”
“She was becoming spoiled.”
“By eating?”
Carmen’s jaw tightened.
“Jessica encouraged disrespect.”
“You forged Jessica’s signature.”
Silence.
“You stole from Olivia’s account.”
“That money is safe.”
“Where?”
No answer.
“You created medical records.”
“I was protecting you.”
Zayden laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“From my wife?”
“From what she knows.”
“She doesn’t know anything.”
Carmen leaned closer to the glass.
“That is what Diane told me too.”
Zayden stopped.
“Jessica’s mother?”
“She lied.”
“What did Diane know?”
“Enough to destroy several families.”
“So you destroyed hers first?”
Carmen’s eyes sharpened.
“I kept people alive.”
“Is that what you call it?”
“You think this is simple because you found a drawer.”
“Olivia found it.”
For the first time, Carmen’s confidence slipped.
Zayden saw it.
“You didn’t expect her to talk.”
“She is a child.”
“She’s the reason you’re sitting there.”
Carmen looked away.
Zayden leaned closer.
“Who is J?”
Her eyes snapped back.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not performance.
“You saw that?”
“I saw enough.”
“No.”
Carmen stood.
The chair scraped behind her.
“You need to stop.”
“Who is J?”
“Zayden, listen to me.”
“Name.”
“You have Jessica and Olivia. Take them somewhere. Leave the country.”
He stared.
“You expect me to believe you care?”
“I care about you.”
“You had a strange way of showing it.”
“You don’t understand the scale.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.”
“If I say his name, Olivia becomes valuable.”
“She already was valuable to you.”
“No.”
Carmen pressed both hands against the glass.
“You idiot. I was trying to get her before he did.”
Zayden’s body went cold.
“What?”
Carmen closed her eyes.
“I needed control of Olivia legally.”
“You abused her to gain control?”
“I needed evidence Jessica was unstable.”
“You hurt a child.”
“I needed Jessica gone long enough to find what Diane gave her.”
“She doesn’t have anything.”
“Then Diane gave it to someone else.”
“Why Olivia?”
Carmen looked at him with something almost like pity.
“Because of Raymond.”
“What about him?”
“Raymond hid the final archive.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how does Olivia matter?”
Carmen sat down again.
“When Raymond disappeared, he sent one message.”
“What?”
“If anything happens to me, the little girl inherits the truth.”
Zayden stopped breathing.
“Olivia?”
“Yes.”
“She was one.”
“He planned ahead.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve spent four years trying to find out.”
“So you moved into my home.”
“Yes.”
“You searched Jessica’s belongings.”
“Yes.”
“You photographed her.”
“Yes.”
“You stole documents.”
“Yes.”
“You terrorized my wife and daughter.”
Carmen did not answer.
“Where is my father?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is he alive?”
“I believe so.”
“Who is J?”
Carmen’s eyes filled with fear.
“I will tell you one thing.”
Zayden waited.
“J knew you were coming home early.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Her voice lowered.
“He knew before I did.”
“How?”
“He sent me a message ten minutes before you arrived.”
Zayden remembered the recovered phone.
No such message appeared.
Carmen saw his confusion.
“Different phone.”
May you like
“What phone?”
“The one you haven’t found.”
