Chapter 5
Madison stood like she owned the carpet beneath her heels.
She was younger than me by maybe ten years.
Blonde hair.
Perfect skin.
Perfectly bored eyes.
The necklace flashed at her throat.
My grocery money turned into diamonds.
“Richard isn’t here,” she said.
“I’m not looking for Richard.”
I walked toward the wall safe behind the framed city rendering.
She stepped in front of me.
“You can’t go through company property.”
I looked at her.
“Who told you that?”
“The CEO.”
“I founded this company before you learned how to spell equity.”
Her smile faltered.
I reached for the frame.
She grabbed my wrist.
I looked at her hand.
“Move.”
She did not.
So I lifted my phone and started recording.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
I angled the camera toward her necklace.
“Tell me, Madison. Did Richard explain whether that was purchased with personal funds or company money?”
Her hand dropped.
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Smart answer.”
I opened the safe.
Empty.
For one second, my mind went blank.
The binders were gone.
The original operating agreement.
The first-year bank records.
The client contracts with my signature.
Everything.
Madison’s smile returned.
“Looking for something?”
I turned slowly.
“When did he take them?”
She crossed her arms.
“I don’t know.”
But she did.
Her eyes kept flicking toward the credenza.
I walked over and opened the drawer.
Locked.
Madison moved.
Too late.
I took the small key from under Richard’s desk tray.
He had always been predictable.
Inside the drawer was a leather envelope.
Not my originals.
Copies.
Shredded copies.
Cut into neat strips.
My breath caught.
Madison whispered, “You should have stayed home.”
I looked at the shredded paper.
Then at her.
“Is that what he told you? That I was just at home?”
She said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“I was there when he had no office. I took client calls while nursing Emma. I designed the bid templates. I negotiated with suppliers who wouldn’t take him seriously. I signed the lease for our first workspace because his credit was too weak.”
Her face tightened.
“But you keep wearing that necklace and telling yourself you picked a winner.”
The elevator dinged outside.
Richard rushed in with Patricia behind him.
His face was red.
His mother looked satisfied.
“Claire,” Richard snapped.
“You need to leave.”
Patricia smiled.
“This is exactly why Richard had to protect the company. You’re unstable.”
I laughed softly.
“There’s the script.”
Richard glanced at Madison.
“Did she take anything?”
“No,” Madison said.
“She tried.”
I held up my phone.
“I recorded everything.”
Patricia’s smile thinned.
“You always were sneaky.”
“No. Just underestimated.”
Richard stepped close enough that I could smell his cologne.
The expensive one he claimed he bought with reward points.
“You’re done,” he whispered.
“You have no proof. No access. No money. And if you keep pushing, I’ll ask for full custody.”
The room tilted.
That was the first thing he said that truly frightened me.
Not because he deserved custody.
Because men like Richard used children the way they used signatures.
As leverage.
I forced myself not to react.
“Threatening me in front of witnesses is bold.”
Patricia laughed.
“You think Madison will testify for you?”
“No.”
I turned the camera slightly.
“But the phone will.”
Richard’s eyes dropped.
He lunged.
I pulled back.
His hand caught my sleeve instead.
A button popped off and hit the floor.
The office door opened.
Mara Jensen stepped inside with two men in suits.
Richard froze.
Mara looked at his hand on my arm.
“Let go of my client.”
He did.
Patricia went pale.
Mara handed him a folder.
“Richard Hale, you’ve been served.”
Madison whispered, “Served?”
Mara looked at the necklace.
May you like
“Yes,” she said.
“And I would strongly advise you not to leave the jurisdiction with company assets around your neck.”
