Chapter 5 - The Other Woman's Confession|
Lauren Pierce entered the conference room carrying a designer handbag and looking as though she had not slept.
Her makeup was flawless.
Her hands were trembling.
Claire remained seated.
Samuel stood beside the window, watching carefully.
Lauren looked at him.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No,” Claire said.
“Whatever you came to tell me, Mr. Mercer can hear.”
Lauren swallowed.
“Fair enough.”
She sat opposite Claire.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Finally, Lauren placed her phone on the table.
“I didn't know they were going to publish that picture.”
Claire folded her hands.
“Who is they?”
“People from the company's outside public-relations firm.”
“Which people?”
“Daniel Cross.”
Samuel wrote down the name.
Claire knew it.
Daniel was a crisis consultant Adrian occasionally hired when negotiations became contentious.
He specialized in making unpleasant stories disappear.
Apparently, he also knew how to create them.
“Why would Daniel publish a lie about me?”
Lauren looked down.
“Because someone wanted you discredited before you could challenge the River District deal.”
Claire felt a cold sensation in her chest.
“Who?”
“I don't know for certain.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Lauren took a breath.
“Two weeks ago, Daniel asked me whether you had any close male friends.”
“I told him I didn't know.”
“Then he asked whether you spent time at a community center.”
Claire's expression changed.
“He knew about Harbor House?”
Lauren nodded.
“He said it could become relevant.”
Samuel leaned forward.
“Relevant to what?”
“The land acquisition.”
Lauren opened her handbag and removed a folded printout.
It was an internal email.
The subject line read REPUTATIONAL EXPOSURE.
Claire scanned it.
One sentence stood out.
If Mrs. Vale contests authorization, establish a credible narrative of personal instability and conflicting interests.
Claire read it twice.
Then she looked at Lauren.
“Who wrote this?”
“Daniel.”
“Who received it?”
Lauren hesitated.
“Adrian's chief operating officer.”
“Victor Harlan?”
“Yes.”
Claire knew Victor.
He had worked beside Adrian for twelve years.
He was polished, ambitious, and always smiling at precisely the wrong moments.
Samuel examined the printout.
“Do you have the original email?”
Lauren nodded.
“I forwarded it to my personal account before my company access was suspended.”
“Why were you suspended?”
Lauren's eyes filled.
“Because I asked questions.”
Claire studied her.
“You've spent the last year trying to convince my husband that you understand him better than I do.”
Lauren flinched.
“I know.”
“You stayed late at the office.”
“You traveled with him.”
“You let people believe things about you.”
“Yes.”
“Were those things true?”
Lauren looked directly at her.
“We had an affair.”
The room became painfully quiet.
Claire had suspected it.
She had found enough evidence to understand what was happening.
But hearing Lauren say the words still hurt.
Not because Claire wanted Adrian back.
Because betrayal had a way of reopening wounds long after a person had decided to leave.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
Claire nodded slowly.
Lauren began crying.
“I told myself your marriage was already over.”
“Adrian said you barely spoke.”
“He said you lived separate lives.”
Claire's expression remained steady.
“Did he tell you why?”
Lauren shook her head.
“Of course not.”
Claire looked toward Samuel.
“Would you give us five minutes?”
Samuel hesitated.
Then he stepped into the hallway.
Lauren wiped her cheeks.
“I don't expect forgiveness.”
“Good.”
“I just needed you to know.”
Claire looked at her.
“Why now?”
Lauren stared at the table.
“Because yesterday, when you were standing at that door, I saw something I've never seen before.”
“What?”
“Adrian was frightened.”
Claire said nothing.
Lauren continued.
“And I realized I'd spent months mistaking his need to control people for strength.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Victor called me after you left.”
“He wanted me to tell reporters you were emotionally unstable.”
“He offered to protect my job if I cooperated.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“What did you say?”
“I told him no.”
“Then he told me my career was finished.”
Claire studied the woman across from her.
Lauren had hurt her.
That was true.
But she was also sitting here, risking her career to expose something dangerous.
Both things could be true at once.
“Lauren, do you understand that helping me now doesn't erase what happened?”
“Yes.”
“Then don't do this because you want me to absolve you.”
Lauren nodded.
“Do it because it's right.”
“I am.”
Claire stood.
She walked to the window and looked down at the traffic.
“Does Adrian know about the email?”
“I don't think so.”
“Does he know Victor is preparing to discredit me?”
“I don't know.”
Claire turned.
“Then we're going to find out.”
Meanwhile, Adrian was confronting Victor in his private office.
A printed copy of the gossip post lay between them.
“Tell me you didn't authorize this,” Adrian said.
Victor leaned back.
“Authorize what?”
“The photograph.”
“The story about Claire.”
Victor gave a small shrug.
“Adrian, we're facing a potentially hostile divorce during a major financing round.”
“We have to manage exposure.”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“Did you do it?”
Victor looked at him for a long moment.
Then he smiled.
“Let's say I protected the company.”
Adrian slammed his palm against the desk.
“You dragged a nineteen-year-old kid into this.”
Victor's smile faded.
“Don't pretend you suddenly care about collateral damage.”
Adrian froze.
Victor leaned forward.
“You taught me that the deal comes first.”
For once, Adrian had no answer.
Then Victor opened a folder and slid a document across the desk.
“Besides, we have a bigger problem.”
Adrian looked down.
It was a copy of the easement authorization.
His wife's signature appeared at the bottom.
Victor tapped the page.
“If Claire challenges this, the entire project could collapse.”
Adrian stared at the signature.
Then he asked quietly, “Where did you get that?”
May you like
Victor's expression changed.
And Adrian realized the answer might destroy far more than his marriage.
