Chapter 3 - The Woman They Thought They Knew
By the end of the week, Eliza had become a headline.THE DECORATIVE WIFE TAKES CONTROL.STONE HEIRESS OR CORPORATE PREDATOR?WHO REALLY BUILT THE EMPIRE?She read the headlines in the back seat of a town car while Claire Bennett drove through downtown Charleston. Claire had been Eliza’s friend since college, back when they had shared a rented apartment and eaten cereal for dinner. She was now Ether’s chief financial officer, though most people still introduced her as Eliza’s friend.“Stop reading them,” Claire said.“I’m not offended.”“You are holding your phone like it personally betrayed you.”Eliza set it down. “The public version is useful.”“The public version says you waited twelve years to punish a man for kissing his mistress.”“That is simpler than explaining a layered holding structure.”“It is also cruel.”Eliza watched the city slide past the window. “Cruel is manageable. Misunderstood is a tax.”Their first press conference took place in a crowded hotel ballroom. Eliza stood before a wall of microphones while reporters shouted over one another.“Did you know about Sierra Vance before the gala?”“Did you use the affair as an excuse to seize Stone Capital?”“Are you divorcing Dominic?”“Did your father secretly own the company?”Eliza waited until the noise thinned.“I will not discuss private marital matters beyond what Dominic chose to make public,” she said. “Stone Capital is now under independent review because investors, employees, and the communities affected by its decisions deserve accurate information. Ether Holdings will publish a full governance report when that review is complete.”“Are you saying Dominic committed fraud?”“I am saying the records will answer that question.”Afterward, an old friend cornered her near the service corridor. Meredith Lane wore a pale blue suit and the expression of someone offering sympathy as a form of judgment.“You could have called me,” Meredith said.“You were at the gala.”“I didn’t know what to do.”“You could have walked over.”Meredith looked down. “Everyone thought you were going to make a scene.”“Did I disappoint them?”“Eliza.”“You spent years telling people I was lucky to have Dominic.”Meredith flushed. “I was trying to help you fit in.”“I was never trying to fit in.”That evening, the board met at Ether’s temporary offices. Six directors arrived prepared to protect themselves. Two arrived prepared to praise Eliza. One, Bernard Locke, arrived prepared to leave before anyone asked him about a consulting payment from Vance Meridian.The forensic review had found three unexplained transfers. Each had been routed through a shell company called Harbor Meridian Strategies, then passed to a developer in Savannah. The developer had received contracts from Stone Capital for properties that were never built.“This is more than mismanagement,” Claire said, projecting the flow of funds onto a screen. “The money moved in circles. Stone Capital paid Harbor Meridian. Harbor Meridian paid a private development group. That group made political donations through three intermediaries. Then a portion returned to an account controlled by someone inside the foundation.”“Who?” Bernard asked.Claire clicked to the next page.The account belonged to Sierra Vance.Eliza studied the figures. “How much?”“Twenty-three million over four years.”The room shifted.“Dominic authorized every transfer?” Arthur asked.“Most of them,” Claire said. “But the routing instructions were created by someone with Ether-level privileges.”Eliza looked at Thomas. “Who had those?”“Your father’s old administrator. The account was never fully retired.”The name appeared on the screen: Margaret Voss.Margaret had been Sterling Blackwood’s chief financial officer. She had retired after his death and remained a nonvoting adviser to Ether. She had also sent Eliza flowers every year on her birthday.Eliza called her that night.Margaret answered in a soft, cultivated voice. “My darling girl. I have been praying for you.”“You have an account with Harbor Meridian Strategies.”“I have had many accounts in my professional life.”“This one received money from Stone Capital.”“Then your investigators should tell you why.”“They are trying.”Margaret sighed. “Your father would be disappointed by the way you are handling this.”Eliza went still. “Do not use my father to threaten me.”“I am reminding you that power requires discretion.”“Discretion is what allowed Dominic to become a public owner of a company he did not own.”“Your father created that arrangement.”“Did he create the transfers?”Margaret’s silence lasted just long enough to become an answer.The call ended with no resolution. Ten minutes later, Claire entered Eliza’s office carrying a tablet.“We have a problem,” Claire said.On the screen was an outgoing transfer from Ether’s emergency reserve. The amount was small, only fifty thousand dollars, but the destination was not.Harbor Meridian Strategies.The transfer had been approved through Claire’s credentials.Eliza looked at her friend.Claire’s face drained of color. “I didn’t send that.”“Your credentials did.”“Someone cloned my access.”“Or you are lying.”Claire recoiled. “After everything I have done for you?”“I am asking what happened.”“You are looking at me like I’m one of them.”Eliza wanted to deny it. She wanted to cross the room and take Claire’s hand the way she had when they were twenty-two and terrified of the future.Instead, she said, “Until we know, your access is suspended.”Claire’s eyes filled, but her voice stayed sharp. “You sound like your father.”She left the office.An hour later, Thomas called from the parking garage.“Eliza, Claire just left through the south entrance.”“Did she go home?”“No.”He sent a photograph.Claire stood beside a dark sedan across from the old courthouse. Margaret Voss was in the driver’s seat.As Eliza stared at the image, another message arrived from an unknown number.You are looking in the wrong direction. Ask what Sterling hid before he died.
