Chapter 7
My father met me at the penthouse.
He was already on the phone with his security team when I walked in.
He hung up when he saw my face.
“Claire. Sit down.”
“Dad, Daniel didn’t do this. Those emails are fake.”
“I know.”
The answer surprised me.
“You do?”
“Daniel Carter is many things. Stupid isn’t one of them. He wouldn’t risk his career and his marriage for Victoria Sterling. And he certainly wouldn’t leave a paper trail if he was going to leak information.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“Whoever did this is good. The emails are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. But they made one mistake.”
“What?”
“The timestamps. Three of the emails were sent at times when Daniel was in meetings with me. Meetings that only three other people knew about. He couldn’t have sent them.”
Relief washed over me.
“So you can prove he’s innocent.”
“Eventually. But proving it will take time. And in the meantime, the damage is done. The board is suspicious. The press is going to have a field day when this leaks. And Daniel’s reputation is in tatters.”
He looked at me.
“Whoever is doing this wants to destroy Daniel. And they want to hurt you by extension.”
“Victoria.”
My father nodded.
“Victoria Sterling is the obvious suspect. But she’s not smart enough to pull this off alone. She has help.”
“Who?”
“That’s what my team is trying to find out. In the meantime, I need you to be careful. And I need you to be strong for Daniel. He’s going to need you more than ever.”
I found Daniel at our apartment.
He was sitting in the dark, drinking whiskey.
I sat next to him.
“My father knows you’re innocent.”
He didn’t look at me.
“Does he?”
“Yes. He found inconsistencies in the timestamps. He’s going to prove it.”
“When? In a year? By then, my career will be over. My reputation will be destroyed.”
He turned to me.
“Victoria’s father’s company is already making a move on the tech acquisition. They’re going to steal the deal right out from under us. And everyone will think I helped them.”
“Daniel, we’ll fight this.”
“Fight how? We have no proof of who did it. We just have suspicions.”
He took another drink.
“Maybe you should leave me.”
The words hit me like a punch.
“What?”
“Maybe your mother was right. Maybe I’m not good enough for you. Maybe all I do is bring you trouble.”
I took the glass from his hand.
“Look at me.”
He wouldn’t.
“Daniel, look at me.”
Finally, he did.
His eyes were red and tired.
“I love you. Not because of your job. Not because of your reputation. Because of you. And we are going to get through this. Together.”
I kissed him.
It was a long, desperate kiss.
A kiss that said I wasn’t going anywhere.
When we pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Then earn me.”
The next morning, we went to the hospital to see Margaret.
She was doing better.
The doctor said she could go home in a few days.
When we walked in, she could tell something was wrong.
“What happened?”
Daniel told her everything.
The fake emails.
The investigation.
The threat to the acquisition.
Margaret listened in silence.
When he finished, her face was hard with anger.
“Victoria Sterling.”
It wasn’t a question.
“We think so. But we can’t prove it.”
Margaret thought for a moment.
“Her father, William Sterling. He’s ruthless. He’s wanted that tech company for years. He’d do anything to get it. Even use his own daughter.”
She looked at Daniel.
“I have some old friends. People who know how the Sterlings operate. Let me make some calls.”
“Mom, you’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’m resting. Making phone calls from a hospital bed is resting.”
She picked up her phone.
“Now go. Both of you. You have work to do. And I have people to call.”
We left the hospital feeling slightly better.
Margaret might be difficult, but when she was on your side, she was a force of nature.
Over the next few days, things moved quickly.
My father’s security team found evidence that someone had accessed Daniel’s email from an external IP address.
They traced it to a coffee shop in Brooklyn.
The security cameras there showed a man entering and leaving at the exact time the emails were sent.
The man was a known associate of William Sterling.
It wasn’t enough to prove anything in court.
But it was enough to cast serious doubt on the emails’ authenticity.
Then Margaret’s contacts came through.
One of William Sterling’s former employees was willing to talk.
Off the record.
He confirmed that Sterling had been planning to sabotage the acquisition for months.
And that Victoria had been more than willing to help.
She wanted Daniel back.
And she wanted me gone.
My father presented the evidence to the board.
They were still cautious.
But they agreed to lift the suspension on Daniel.
And they gave him the green light to proceed with the acquisition.
The deal had to be closed in two weeks.
If we succeeded, the Sterlings would be defeated.
If we failed…
We didn’t think about failing.
Daniel threw himself into the project.
I helped wherever I could.
Margaret, now home from the hospital, used her connections to smooth the way.
We were a team.
An unlikely team.
But a team nonetheless.
The night before the deal was supposed to close, Victoria called Daniel.
I heard him answer.
I heard his voice get cold.
“Victoria, don’t ever call me again.”
He listened for a moment.
“You’re pathetic. You and your father both. You’re going to lose. And then I’m going to make sure everyone knows what you tried to do.”
He hung up.
“Who was that?”
“Victoria. She’s threatening to go to the press. To tell them about the investigation. To try to ruin the deal at the last minute.”
I thought about it.
“Let her try.”
“What?”
“Let her go to the press. But we get ahead of her. We tell our side of the story first. We show the evidence. We let the world see what the Sterlings really are.”
Daniel looked at me.
A slow smile spread across his face.
“That’s brilliant.”
He picked up the phone.
“I’m calling your father. We’re going to need a press conference. First thing in the morning.”
May you like
The game was changing.
And this time, we were the ones making the rules.
