Chapter 4 - The House Was Never the Prize
Nathan filed an emergency motion Monday morning challenging both agreements.
The moment he did, Gavin’s attorney accused me of trying to extort SwiftFreight by interfering with the Crestview transaction.
Nathan read the accusation twice.
Then he smiled.
“What?”
I asked.
“He’s giving us a gift.”
“How?”
“He just put the investment deal into the divorce dispute himself.”
I understood immediately.
If Gavin wanted to argue that my divorce actions were connected to the Crestview suspension, Nathan could demand discovery concerning the transaction.
That included financial disclosures.
Asset transfers.
Communications involving Mason.
Possibly even Charlotte.
Gavin’s side had expected me to disappear.
Instead, they had accidentally invited us into the room they were trying hardest to keep locked.
Nathan filed an amended discovery request before lunch.
By two o’clock, Gavin called again.
This time I answered because Nathan was sitting beside me.
“Sabrina.”
His voice was low.
Dangerously calm.
“Withdraw the motion.”
“No.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No.”
“You signed.”
“Under circumstances my attorney intends to explain.”
“You knew exactly what you were signing.”
I looked at Nathan.
He nodded for me to continue.
“I knew you were threatening me.”
“You’re twisting this.”
“How?”
“You were emotional.”
I almost admired the audacity.
“You hit me five times with a belt, Gavin.”
He went silent.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Charlotte told me you attacked her property.”
“And you investigated?”
“I knew your temper.”
“My temper?”
“You’ve always been jealous.”
“Did you check the cameras?”
Silence.
“Did you?”
“This isn’t about a car anymore.”
“You’re right.”
I stood and walked toward the hotel window.
“It’s about your CFO admitting he hid assets and changed financial disclosures.”
The line became completely silent.
Nathan looked up sharply.
He had not expected me to say it.
Neither had Gavin.
Finally Gavin whispered, “What did Mason tell you?”
There it was.
Not disbelief.
Not confusion.
Fear.
I felt something settle inside me.
“How much do you know, Gavin?”
He hung up.
Nathan stared at me.
“That reaction matters.”
“I know.”
“You realize he just told us something without saying it.”
“I know.”
Gavin had not asked what I meant.
He had not called Mason’s confession impossible.
His first question had been how much Mason told me.
By evening, Crestview’s investigators found another problem.
SwiftFreight had disclosed approximately $186 million in outstanding short-term obligations.
Internal banking records suggested the real figure might exceed $310 million.
Elaine called an emergency meeting.
“We’re no longer reviewing whether to delay the investment.”
She folded her hands.
“We’re reviewing whether there was deliberate misrepresentation.”
My phone buzzed.
A message from Gavin.
COME HOME.
I stared at it.
Another appeared.
WE CAN FIX THIS.
Then a third.
CHARLOTTE IS GONE.
Nathan read over my shoulder.
“Gone where?”
I typed one response.
NOT MY PROBLEM.
Gavin answered immediately.
May you like
YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.
SHE TOOK SOMETHING.
