Chapter 13 - THE FIRST PERSON
Federal investigators escorted Evelyn from the building.
Not in handcuffs.
Not yet.
But her access badge was disabled.
Her office was sealed.
The board placed both of us temporarily outside the succession process while the investigation continued.
That should have frustrated me.
Instead, one sentence consumed every thought.
Ryan wasn't the first person we put near you.
I searched backward through my life.
Coworkers.
Friends.
Boyfriends.
Mentors.
People I had trusted before Ryan.
Daniel told me not to assume everyone was involved.
But suspicion had already infected every memory.
Then Simon found a payment from Alpine Meridian dated six years earlier.
The recipient was someone named Anthony Vale.
My throat closed.
Anthony had been my boyfriend before Ryan.
We dated for almost two years.
He broke up with me four months before Evelyn invited me to the fundraiser.
The breakup had devastated me.
Anthony said he wasn't ready for marriage.
He moved to Seattle.
At least, that's what I believed.
Daniel located him.
He was no longer in Seattle.
He lived forty minutes outside Denver.
I wanted to confront him immediately.
Daniel refused to let me go alone.
Anthony opened the door and looked like he had seen a ghost.
“Claire.”
I stared at him.
“You weren't expecting me?”
“No.”
“That's strange.”
“Why?”
“Because apparently people have been expecting me for years.”
His face changed.
We sat in his kitchen.
Daniel remained nearby.
I placed a printed payment record on the table.
Anthony stared at it.
“I can explain.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
He rubbed his face.
“I worked for Marcus Price.”
“How?”
“Background research.”
“On me?”
“Yes.”
The word struck harder than I expected.
Anthony looked miserable.
“He hired me to get close to you.”
I laughed quietly.
“So Ryan was a replacement.”
“No.”
“What does that mean?”
“I was supposed to evaluate you.”
I stared.
“Evaluate me for what?”
“At first, investment vulnerability.”
“How emotionally dependent you became.”
“How involved your family was.”
“Whether you kept separate finances.”
I stood.
Daniel watched carefully.
Anthony continued.
“But I didn't do what they wanted.”
“You dated me for two years.”
“I fell in love with you.”
I closed my eyes.
I was so tired of men claiming love after confessing betrayal.
“Why did you leave?”
“Because Marcus told me the next phase was marriage.”
“You were supposed to marry me?”
“Yes.”
“And you refused?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“They paid me to disappear.”
I pointed to the transaction.
“That's the payment.”
He nodded.
“Why didn't you warn me?”
“Because they threatened my younger sister.”
I laughed bitterly.
“They always have someone to threaten.”
Anthony looked at me.
“Claire, after I left, I tried to check on you.”
“And?”
“They told me someone else had taken the assignment.”
“Ryan.”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
Then Anthony said something worse.
“I didn't know Ryan was Grant's son at first.”
“What?”
“Ryan didn't use the Whitmore name in the internal files.”
“What name did he use?”
Anthony looked at Daniel.
Then back at me.
“R. Price.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why Price?”
May you like
Anthony swallowed.
“Because Ryan isn't Grant's biological son.”
