Chapter 17 - Jennifer's Perfect Marriage Finally Cracked
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Jennifer requested an emergency meeting with Jack.
Her attorney said she wanted to resolve the misunderstanding privately.
I almost laughed when Thomas told me.
A misunderstanding.
That was apparently what wealthy people called millions of missing dollars when lawyers became involved.
Jack agreed to meet her at his attorney's office.
I wasn't present.
But later that evening, he called Elena and asked whether I would be willing to hear what Jennifer had said.
We arranged a meeting the following morning.
Jack looked exhausted when he arrived.
He sat opposite me and loosened his tie.
“Jennifer wants me to stop the audit.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“How surprising.”
“She says continuing it will damage the foundation.”
“The missing money already damaged the foundation.”
“I told her that.”
“And?”
Jack looked out the window.
“She threatened to expose financial arrangements from my past.”
I studied him.
“What arrangements?”
He was silent for a moment.
Then he looked directly at me.
“Years ago, some of my companies operated in ways that would not survive proper scrutiny.”
I didn't blink.
“You mean the rumors are true?”
“Some of them.”
“Were people hurt?”
Jack's expression darkened.
“Some people suffered because of decisions I made.”
I sat back.
He continued.
“I've spent years restructuring operations and trying to move legitimate businesses away from those practices.”
“Does that erase what happened?”
“No.”
The answer surprised me.
Most powerful men I'd met preferred excuses.
Jack didn't offer one.
He looked at me.
“Jennifer has records she believes will make me reluctant to cooperate with investigators.”
“And will they?”
“No.”
I held his gaze.
“Even if you lose everything?”
He nodded.
“That's a possibility.”
For several seconds, I didn't know what to say.
Then I asked:
“Do you still love her?”
Jack's expression changed.
It was the first personal question I'd asked him.
He looked toward the window again.
“I loved the woman I believed I married.”
I understood that answer more than I wanted to.
“Me too,” I whispered.
Silence settled between us.
Then Jack continued.
“Jennifer claims you orchestrated the fraudulent transactions.”
I stared at him.
“Of course she does.”
“She says your accounting background made you uniquely capable of doing it.”
“Did she explain why I'd steal money and then hand you the evidence?”
“She said you panicked after David threatened to leave you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That's almost insulting in its lack of imagination.”
Jack's mouth moved slightly.
“I said something similar.”
I leaned forward.
“What do you believe?”
He looked directly at me.
“I believe the evidence should decide.”
For some reason, that answer mattered.
Not because Jack trusted me blindly.
Because he didn't ask me to trust him blindly either.
He pushed a document across the table.
“Thomas received this from the forensic team.”
I read it carefully.
It was a summary of access activity associated with Meridian Crest Advisory.
The earliest relevant entries predated the affair David had admitted.
One user had downloaded copies of my old professional credentials.
Another had accessed a historical version of my signature.
My breath caught.
“Where did those records come from?”
Jack's voice lowered.
“An archival system connected to your former accounting firm.”
I felt my heart pounding.
Only a limited number of employees had access to those archives.
I looked up slowly.
“Maya?”
Jack didn't answer.
Instead, he pointed to a note at the bottom of the report.
The archival access had been made using credentials assigned to a former senior financial analyst.
The account holder's name was listed clearly.
May you like
Maya Chen.
And suddenly, the person I most wanted to call was the very person I was afraid might have betrayed me.
