Chapter 13 - The Glass Door
Corinne had learned to read Adrian's face before he spoke.
It was one of the first things she noticed about him.
His anger was quiet.
His grief made him careless.
His guilt made him generous.
She'd found those qualities useful.
Now she sat opposite him in a private room at his attorney's office and realized she couldn't read him at all.
A family law attorney named Rachel Kim sat beside Adrian.
David Harlan sat beside Corinne.
No one touched the coffee.
Adrian placed a folder on the table.
"I'm filing for divorce."
Corinne stared.
Then she laughed softly.
"You're not serious."
"I am."
"Adrian, come on."
Rachel said, "We've prepared the initial papers. We're also addressing temporary possession of the house and restrictions on contact involving Lila."
Corinne turned to her.
"I'm the child's stepmother. You can't just erase me."
Rachel's voice remained even.
"You're not her legal parent. There's no adoption or existing custody order granting you parental rights. Given the circumstances, Adrian is seeking to keep contact suspended while the investigation proceeds."
Corinne looked at Adrian.
"You're letting her talk about me like I'm a stranger?"
He didn't answer.
"We were married seven months ago."
"I know."
"You stood in front of everyone and promised you'd never leave."
"I also promised to protect my daughter."
Corinne's eyes filled.
"Of course. There she is again."
Harlan shifted beside her.
"Corinne."
But she was looking only at Adrian.
"Do you know what it feels like to spend every day in a house where your husband's dead wife is practically a fourth person at dinner?"
Adrian stared.
"You knew I had a daughter."
"Yes."
"You knew Eleanor had died."
"Yes."
"Then why marry me?"
Her answer came too quickly.
"Because I loved you."
"Did you?"
She flinched.
He waited.
Then he slid the copied documents across the table.
"Tell me about Bell Advisory Partners."
Corinne's face went still.
Harlan looked at the paperwork.
"What's this?"
"A consulting agreement connected to the West Pier sale. Six point four million dollars in contingent fees. Her brother's company."
Harlan turned toward Corinne.
"You didn't mention this."
"It's not relevant to my marriage."
Adrian laughed.
The sound shocked everyone.
"My wife pushes me to sell company property, her brother gets millions, and she signs documents with my tablet. Seems pretty relevant to me."
Corinne leaned forward.
"You have no idea how much work I've done trying to help you."
"Then explain it."
"I introduced people. I made calls. I went to dinners you didn't want to attend."
"For six million dollars?"
"It's a contingent payment. Nobody's received that money."
"Did you tell me it existed?"
"No."
"Why?"
She looked away.
"Because you'd have made it about Eleanor."
Adrian stared at her.
For a moment, he almost asked another question.
Then he realized he didn't need the answer.
He already knew what she thought of Eleanor.
He'd heard the contempt in her voice.
He'd seen it whenever Lila mentioned her mother.
The marriage hadn't collapsed that afternoon on the yacht.
It had been collapsing for months.
He'd simply been looking in the wrong direction.
After the meeting, Rachel walked Adrian to the elevator.
"How are you holding up?"
"Badly."
"That's a reasonable answer."
He smiled faintly.
Rachel pressed the elevator button.
"There's something I need you to understand. The divorce and the investigation into Lila's injury are separate legal matters. We can seek temporary civil protections, but we don't control what the police decide."
"I know."
"And the financial documents belong with the company's counsel and forensic team. Don't confront Martin or Corinne on your own."
Adrian looked at her.
"Does every lawyer tell clients not to do the one thing they desperately want to do?"
"Pretty much. It's our main service."
He almost laughed.
Then the elevator opened.
Rachel stepped aside.
"Go home to your little girl, Adrian."
Corinne waited until Adrian had left before turning on her attorney.
"You just sat there."
Harlan gathered his papers.
"What would you have preferred?"
"For you to defend me."
"I did."
"You barely said anything."
"Because every time you spoke, I learned something you hadn't told me."
Her face reddened.
"That's unfair."
"Is it?"
She grabbed her handbag.
Harlan lowered his voice.
"Corinne, listen carefully. If you used Adrian's credentials without his consent, there may be civil and criminal consequences. If you made false statements concerning the yacht incident, that's another matter entirely."
"I did not push that child."
Harlan studied her.
"Then why did Adrian see your foot raised near her hands?"
Corinne froze.
The question landed in a place she hadn't protected.
"What?"
"That's in the incident summary his counsel shared."
Her mouth went dry.
"He saw that?"
"Apparently."
Corinne looked toward the glass door.
For a second, she was back on the yacht.
Lila hanging below.
Her tiny fingers gripping metal.
A shoe raised above them.
Adrian's voice from the doorway.
She had believed he arrived too late to see anything but the rescue.
Now she wasn't sure.
Harlan watched her.
"Corinne?"
She swallowed.
"I was trying to get closer."
"With your foot?"
"I was moving. It happened so fast."
He leaned back.
"You should think carefully before you explain that to anyone else."
When Corinne finally left the conference room, she walked as if the floor beneath her had become unreliable.
May you like
Because Adrian hadn't merely heard the scream.
He might have seen the part she'd been counting on nobody seeing.
