Chapter 11 - The Gala of False Smiles
The metal case had been locked inside a safe at Vale Meridian. Only Adrian, Marcus, and Naomi knew the code. Yet the case was empty when Marcus checked it.
“There’s no sign of forced entry,” Adrian said.
Olivia sat across from him, the forged emails spread on the table. “Someone had access to your security system.”
“Or someone I trusted.”
“Graham?”
“He wants the ledger destroyed, not stolen.”
“Maybe he wants us to think it was destroyed.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “You think the theft is staged.”
“I think everyone is performing except us.”
His mouth curved despite the situation. “That may be why we work well together.”
“We don’t work together. We argue near expensive furniture.”
“It’s a specialized partnership.”
That afternoon, Graham announced a charity gala to celebrate the Harbor Renewal initiative. The board, investors, city officials, and Northline executives would attend. Elaine told Olivia her presence was not required.
Olivia bought a black dress anyway.
“You’re going?” Naomi asked.
“If Graham wants a room full of witnesses, we should give him one.”
Adrian arrived at the hotel ballroom just before the speeches began. He wore a black tuxedo and the expression of a man walking into a trap he had designed himself.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
“You look expensive.”
“I am expensive.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“I know.”
His smile made her pulse misbehave.
The ballroom glowed beneath chandeliers. Waiters carried champagne through the crowd. Jake stood near the Northline table with Megan, both dressed as if betrayal were a formal occasion.
Megan approached first. “Olivia, I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.”
“You confessed to six months.”
“I was upset.”
“You were honest for the first time.”
Jake’s face tightened. “Can we not do this here?”
“You brought it here.”
Megan leaned closer. “You think Adrian is different because he has better suits? He collects women who make him feel powerful.”
Adrian appeared beside Olivia. “Megan, I suggest you stop speaking.”
She looked him over. “And I suggest you ask your new favorite what she found in her mother’s files.”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened. “How do you know about Claire?”
Megan smiled. “People talk.”
She walked away.
“She knows too much,” Olivia said.
“Or she wants us to think she does.”
Graham took the stage. “Tonight, we honor progress. The Harbor District will become a vibrant center of commerce, culture, and opportunity.”
Olivia scanned the audience. City council members applauded. Investors smiled. On the screen behind Graham, a rendering showed glass towers where her father’s grocery store had once stood.
Adrian leaned toward her. “The second cassette.”
“What about it?”
“The recording from my father’s office has a missing section. If the second tape contains the rest, it may name Graham’s accomplices.”
“The ledger was stolen.”
“Maybe the tape wasn’t.”
They slipped into a service corridor. Adrian opened a small case hidden beneath a linen cart. Inside was the cassette.
“You brought it to a gala?” Olivia whispered.
“I have a talent for bad timing.”
They reached a private media room. The tape began with static, then Thomas’s voice.
“Graham, I won’t sign the transfer. The families own those shares.”
Graham’s younger voice answered. “You’re going to sign, or Claire and the child disappear.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
Thomas said, “You’ve already threatened my son.”
“Your son is not the only child in this story.”
Then another voice spoke, clear and familiar.
Jake’s father.
“Graham, the Parker girl is the leverage.”
Olivia stared at Adrian.
May you like
Before either could speak, the screen in the ballroom went black. A message appeared across it for every guest to see.
ADRIAN VALE STOLE THE HARBOR FROM SEATTLE.
