Chapter 10 - The Group Chat
The police didn't give Adrian the full chat.
His lawyers eventually obtained portions through the criminal investigation and related civil proceedings.
Even redacted, it was enough.
CORINNE: He keeps saying no to Hale.
SLOANE: Then stop asking him when he's rational.
TESSA: Jesus.
CORINNE: Don't grow morals now.
BROOKE: What exactly are you planning?
CORINNE: Fear.
SLOANE: Effective.
BROOKE: That's not an answer.
Later:
CORINNE: He needs one night he'll never recover from.
SLOANE: Then make sure the cameras don't.
Tessa had responded with a champagne emoji.
Brooke hadn't responded at all.
Adrian read the messages in Miriam's office.
Then read them again.
"She talked about me like a project."
Miriam didn't answer.
He pointed at the screen.
"'Don't grow morals now.' What does that mean?"
"Probably that they had already crossed lines."
"What lines?"
"We'll find out."
Adrian looked at Priya.
"Financially?"
Priya opened another report.
"We found another issue."
"Of course you did."
"Corinne had access to a family charitable account for event expenses."
"How much?"
"Over two years, approximately four hundred eighty thousand dollars was routed to vendors controlled by associates of Sloane."
Camille, on speakerphone, said, "So she was stealing too?"
Priya frowned.
"I didn't say that."
"You never say anything fun."
"I say things that can be proved."
Adrian rubbed his eyes.
"Could the payments be legitimate?"
"Some are. Some appear inflated. A few vendors have no operational history."
"Shell companies."
"Possibly."
Miriam interrupted.
"This matters, Adrian, but do not lose focus. The attempted harm to Lila is separate."
"It doesn't feel separate."
"It may be part of the same pattern. Legally, we shouldn't assume motive until investigators tie it together."
Adrian stared at the messages.
"What kind of person writes this?"
Camille's voice softened.
"The kind who assumes nobody will ever see it."
That afternoon, Adrian met with his board.
He had spent years commanding that room.
Today he felt like a stranger in it.
Twelve directors.
Some sympathetic.
Some frightened.
Some clearly calculating.
Board chair Evelyn Grant spoke first.
"Adrian, no one here doubts your commitment to the company."
He almost laughed.
"That sentence usually ends badly."
A few people shifted.
Evelyn continued.
"We have a fiduciary obligation."
"There it is."
"Halcyon is exploiting this."
"They helped create it."
"We don't know that."
"I do."
"You suspect it."
Adrian leaned forward.
"My wife received money from a Halcyon-funded company before and during our marriage."
That silenced the room.
Evelyn stared at him.
"How much?"
"Over three hundred thousand. Plus a twenty-million-dollar success fee if Halcyon gained control."
One director swore.
Another asked, "Does law enforcement know?"
"Yes."
"Is Hale under investigation?"
"I don't know."
Evelyn removed her glasses.
"Then we need independent counsel."
"Agreed."
"And you should consider temporary leave."
Adrian went still.
"No."
"Adrian—"
"No."
"This is exactly the kind of instability Halcyon can use against us."
"So your solution is to give them the instability they wanted?"
"My solution is governance."
"Your solution is removing me."
"Temporarily."
He looked around the table.
Some directors wouldn't meet his eyes.
There it was.
The second half of Corinne's plan.
It didn't matter whether Adrian voluntarily sold.
If scandal made the board remove him, Halcyon still gained leverage.
He sat back.
"Fine."
Evelyn blinked.
"Fine?"
"I'll take seventy-two hours."
"Adrian—"
"Not leave. Seventy-two hours. You appoint a special committee, retain independent counsel, review every Halcyon contact and every document leaked from my home. Then we meet again."
Evelyn studied him.
"Agreed."
As he left, his general counsel caught him in the hall.
"Adrian."
"What?"
"There's something you should know."
The man's face looked sick.
"We received an anonymous packet three weeks ago."
"What kind of packet?"
"Questions about your judgment. Your marriage. Your emotional stability."
Adrian stared at him.
"Who saw it?"
"The governance committee."
"What did it say?"
The lawyer swallowed.
"It predicted a family crisis."
Adrian's skin went cold.
"Predicted?"
May you like
"Almost like somebody knew one was coming."
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