Chapter 17 - Preston's Last Bargain|
Preston requested a meeting through his attorney.
Rebecca agreed to attend, provided the discussion remained documented and no settlement was signed without further review.
We met in a conference room at her office.
Preston looked exhausted. His tie was loose, his eyes bloodshot, and the confidence he had worn like a tailored suit had begun to fray.
He placed a folder on the table.
"These are the records I have," he said.
Rebecca did not touch them.
"Please identify the documents and their source."
Preston opened the folder.
Inside were emails, transaction summaries, and a draft authorization concerning Vale Heritage Capital.
He claimed Charles Wexler had prepared the disputed financial structure and instructed him to obtain supporting collateral.
"I believed the documents were legitimate," Preston said. "I was told the family had approved the arrangement."
"By whom?" Rebecca asked.
"Victoria."
Victoria's attorney had already provided a statement contradicting that claim.
Preston shifted in his chair.
"She may not have understood what she signed."
"Did you personally tell Caroline that she had authorized the transfer?" Rebecca asked.
"I believed she had."
"Did you verify that belief with her?"
He hesitated.
"No."
"Did you submit the authorization bearing her signature?"
"I transmitted documents provided to me by Wexler's office."
"Did you know they were altered?"
"No."
His answers were carefully chosen.
I watched him.
"Why did you take the jewelry?"
He looked at me.
"I thought it would secure the transaction until the review was completed."
"You knew I hadn't given permission."
"I thought I could obtain it later."
"You dressed your mistress in my mother's diamonds."
His face tightened.
"That was a terrible decision."
"Was it meant to make the jewelry appear to be in your possession?"
He looked away.
"I wanted to demonstrate that the assets were available."
"Available to whom?"
He didn't answer.
Rebecca asked whether he had received any money personally from the transactions.
Preston said he had received consulting fees, but he insisted they were legitimate compensation. The forensic accountant would need to examine the payments and determine whether they matched the services described.
Then he made his offer.
He would return all the jewelry, pay a substantial sum, resign from Hartwell Strategic Holdings, and provide a statement blaming Wexler for the altered authorization.
In exchange, I would agree to a confidential settlement and release him from any further civil claims.
"No," I said.
Preston stared at me.
"Caroline, this could ruin me."
"You should have considered that before using my name."
"I didn't intend to hurt you."
"You intended to control me."
He leaned forward.
"I was trying to keep everything from collapsing."
"Everything you built on lies."
His expression changed.
For a moment, I saw the man who used to make me laugh in a crowded restaurant, the man who had held my hand at my mother's funeral, the man who had promised to protect me.
Then I remembered the note in the empty safe.
Investment emergency.
I remembered Sloane's caption.
I remembered my signature on a document I had never authorized.
"Did you ever love me?" I asked.
He looked genuinely wounded.
"Of course I did."
"Then why did you treat me like a problem to be managed?"
He had no answer.
Rebecca ended the meeting without accepting the proposal.
Afterward, she explained that Preston's statement was not proof by itself. We would need independent evidence connecting Wexler to the alteration and determining Preston's own role.
The next week, investigators obtained additional records from the financial institutions and the consulting firm. The documents showed that Wexler had prepared several versions of the authorization, including one that did not contain my signature.
A later version contained a signature page copied from a genuine trust document.
That was strong evidence of alteration.
But the records also revealed something else.
Preston had emailed Wexler a message before the final version was submitted.
The beneficiary must remain unaware. Caroline will ask questions if she sees the full structure.
I read it twice.
He had known I was being kept in the dark.
He had not simply passed along paperwork without understanding its purpose.
He had helped conceal the transaction from me.
Rebecca advised that the email be preserved and included in the ongoing investigation.
That night, Preston sent me one final message.
I made one terrible choice. Don't let Wexler destroy both our lives.
I didn't reply.
May you like
For the first time, I understood that he was still trying to make his survival my responsibility.
And I was finished carrying it.
