Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Elena had no intention of meeting Chloe.
Chloe came anyway.
It happened on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
Elena was leaving her pediatrician’s office with Alexander asleep inside his carrier.
Amelia walked beside her.
Security waited at the curb.
Chloe stepped from a black SUV.
Amelia stopped immediately.
“You have got to be kidding.”
Chloe wore dark green wool and oversized sunglasses.
“Elena.”
“No.”
Elena kept walking.
“We need to speak.”
“We really don’t.”
“It concerns Julian.”
“That makes me want the conversation even less.”
Chloe moved closer.
Security stepped between them.
Elena raised a hand.
“It’s fine.”
Amelia stared at her.
“It absolutely is not.”
“Two minutes.”
Chloe smiled.
“Privately.”
“No.”
Elena adjusted the carrier.
“You approached me while I’m holding a newborn.”
“You have security.”
“Exactly.”
Chloe removed her sunglasses.
There were shadows beneath her eyes.
Marriage apparently had not improved her sleep.
“You are enjoying this.”
Elena stared.
“Enjoying what?”
“Watching Julian turn against me.”
“I’ve been home changing diapers.”
“Don’t pretend innocence.”
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“You hid his child.”
Elena’s expression cooled.
“I protected my pregnancy.”
“From your husband.”
“Ex-husband.”
“The father.”
“Yes.”
Chloe stepped closer.
“You know what people are saying.”
“I stopped caring what people said around the time your office leaked my medical records.”
Chloe’s face flickered.
Amelia noticed.
So did Elena.
“What?”
Chloe recovered quickly.
“I never leaked your medical records.”
“I didn’t say you personally did.”
“You implied it.”
Elena tilted her head.
“You’re nervous.”
“I’m furious.”
“There’s a difference.”
Chloe’s mouth tightened.
Then her voice dropped.
“Walk away from the trust.”
Elena went still.
Amelia looked at her.
“What trust?”
Chloe realized too late that Elena had not mentioned it publicly.
Elena’s eyes hardened.
“How do you know about Alexander’s trust?”
Chloe said nothing.
“Only our attorneys and Sterling counsel know the details.”
“I worked at the company.”
“The bloodline provision was sealed.”
Chloe’s jaw tightened.
Elena took one slow step forward.
“How do you know about the twelve percent?”
Chloe smiled.
It was a mistake.
“Everyone knows everything eventually.”
“No.”
Elena’s voice was quiet.
“Not that quickly.”
Chloe leaned closer.
“You have no idea what you’re walking into.”
“I’m not walking into anything.”
“You think controlling twelve percent of Sterling Holdings makes you powerful?”
“I think being Alexander’s mother makes me responsible for protecting him.”
“That trust will destroy you.”
“Is that a warning?”
“Advice.”
“From the woman who slept with my husband.”
Chloe’s face changed.
“He came to me because you failed him.”
Elena almost smiled.
There was a time when those words would have broken her.
Now they barely reached her.
“No.”
Elena looked directly at Chloe.
“Julian came to you because he was selfish, unhappy, and too cowardly to end one relationship before emotionally beginning another.”
Chloe said nothing.
“And you welcomed him because proximity to power was always more interesting to you than love.”
Chloe’s face flushed.
“You think you’re better than me.”
“No.”
Elena looked at Alexander.
“I think I finally stopped measuring myself against you.”
Chloe leaned forward.
“If you take that board seat—”
“I don’t have a board seat.”
“You will.”
Elena paused.
Chloe realized she had revealed too much again.
“Interesting.”
Elena turned toward security.
“We’re leaving.”
Chloe called after her.
“Julian will take the baby if you become a problem.”
Elena stopped.
Amelia grabbed her arm.
“Keep walking.”
Elena slowly turned.
Chloe smiled.
That smile disappeared when Elena lifted her phone.
The screen displayed an active recording.
Chloe stared.
Elena’s voice was calm.
May you like
“You spent five years teaching me that documentation matters.”
Then she walked away.
