Chapter 7 - THE SECRET ALLIANCE
The coffee shop was quiet,
located in a discreet corner of the financial district.
I sat at a corner table,
watching the door,
waiting for my guest to arrive.
Arthur Vance walked in,
his presence commanding respect,
his expensive suit immaculate.
He looked surprised to see me,
having received my invitation only an hour prior.
"Evelyn,
this is an unexpected pleasure,"
he said,
sitting down opposite me.
"Though I must admit,
I was expecting Grant to be with you."
"Grant doesn't know I'm here,
Arthur,"
I said,
pushing a thick folder across the table toward him.
He frowned,
looking at the folder before opening it.
As he read the documents inside,
the color slowly drained from his face.
They were the financial records Clara had compiled,
detailing Grant's embezzlement,
his shell companies,
and the stolen seventy-two thousand dollars.
"What is this?"
Arthur whispered,
his voice shaking with suppressed anger.
"This is the man your daughter is planning to marry,"
I said calmly.
"This is the man you are about to merge your multi-million dollar business with."
"He is a fraud,
Arthur."
"He is using your daughter to access your capital,
solely to cover his financial crimes."
Arthur slammed the folder shut,
his knuckles white.
"Does Victoria know about this?"
"Victoria knows he took my daughter's college fund,"
I replied,
watching him flinch.
"She didn't care."
"She wanted the ring,
and she wanted the prestige."
"But I don't think she knows that he is facing federal prison time."
Arthur leaned back in his chair,
rubbing his temples,
looking suddenly much older than his years.
"My God,
the scandal would destroy our family name,
our stock would plummet."
"That is why I am offering you a way out,"
I said,
leaning forward.
"I don't want to destroy the Vance empire,
Arthur,
I only want to destroy Grant."
"Pull out of the merger quietly,
but don't do it yet."
"Wait until the public launch party next Friday."
"Let him think he has won,
let him stand on that stage in front of all his peers."
"And then,
we pull the rug out from under him."
Arthur looked at me,
a mixture of fear and respect in his eyes.
"You are a formidable woman,
Evelyn."
"No,"
May you like
I corrected him,
"I am a mother who has nothing left to lose."
