Chapter 11 - THE MISTRESS WHO WAS PAID TO DESTROY A MARRIAGE|
Saraphina was released from hospital custody after the initial questioning, pending further investigation. She believed the worst had passed. She had a lawyer, influential acquaintances, and enough money to disappear if necessary.
But Marcus had frozen the accounts connected to Northstar Advisory, and the police had obtained a warrant for her apartment.
When officers arrived, they found suitcases packed beside the front door and a passport hidden inside a hollowed-out book.
Saraphina was taken back into custody.
This time, Marcus requested permission to speak with her in the presence of her attorney and the investigators.
She entered the interview room wearing a gray sweater and no makeup. Without her polished appearance, she looked younger and far less confident.
"You wanted to speak to me," she said.
"I want to know who paid you to enter my daughter-in-law's hospital room."
Saraphina glanced at her attorney.
"I have no comment."
Marcus placed the payment records on the table.
"Northstar paid you through three separate accounts. You received money before Elena's admission, after the forged transfer order, and on the day Leo was born."
Her face changed.
"I didn't know what the money was for."
"You told Elena that the guard was busy because you had paid someone."
"I was angry."
"You threatened her unborn child."
Saraphina looked away.
"I never intended to kill anyone."
"Then why did you pull the IV pole?"
She began to cry.
"I wanted her to understand that Julian wasn't going to leave you alone. He told me the marriage was over before he proposed to her. He said he would always take care of me."
"Did he promise to marry you?"
"He said we would be together when the time was right."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Did Eleanor Thorne contact you?"
Saraphina froze.
Her attorney immediately told her not to answer, but Marcus had seen enough.
"You were not acting alone," he said.
Saraphina pressed her hands against her forehead.
"Eleanor said Julian needed to be free of Elena's influence. She said the baby would give Elena control of the trust, and that if Elena became unstable, the family could appoint a guardian to manage the inheritance."
"Did she tell you to hurt Elena?"
"No. She told me to frighten her, to make Julian believe Elena was too emotionally fragile to raise a child in the public eye."
"Who arranged the security guard's absence?"
"Northstar."
"Who created the forged transfer order?"
"I don't know."
"Who paid Dr. Lang?"
Saraphina hesitated.
"Richard Cole handled the payments. Eleanor approved them."
Marcus sat back.
The scheme had been designed to make Elena appear unstable, then use that appearance to challenge her authority over Leo's trust. Saraphina had been recruited because she knew Julian's weaknesses and could provoke him into behaving recklessly.
"What did you receive in exchange?" Marcus asked.
"A promise that I would be given a senior position at Thorn Global. And enough money to start over."
"Did you believe Eleanor would keep her promise?"
Saraphina gave a bitter laugh.
"I believed what I wanted to believe."
Marcus stood.
"That is the first honest thing you've said."
Before he left, Saraphina asked one question.
"Will Julian forgive me?"
Marcus looked at her.
"That is no longer the most important question."
He walked out and delivered the interview notes to the prosecutor. The evidence strengthened the case against Eleanor and Richard Cole, but it also revealed that Julian had concealed financial payments to Saraphina long before the hospital attack.
Marcus returned to the hospital.
Elena was awake, and Leo was resting in the neonatal unit.
"Did you find out who was behind it?" she asked.
"Yes. But there is something else you deserve to know."
He explained Saraphina's testimony and the plan to portray Elena as unfit to control her son's inheritance.
Elena listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she looked toward the window.
"Then I want an independent attorney. Someone who has never worked for your family."
"I'll arrange it."
"And I want my own access to the trust. No more secret accounts. No more documents signed on my behalf."
"You have my word."
Elena looked at him.
"I need more than your word, Marcus. I need a system that doesn't depend on whether a Thorne happens to be honest."
He nodded.
"Then that is what we'll build."
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But as he reached the door, a message arrived from the prosecutor.
RICHARD COLE HAS DISAPPEARED. HIS OFFICE WAS FOUND EMPTY, AND THE ORIGINAL TRUST FILE IS MISSING.
