Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN WHO WANTED EVERYTHINGI had expected Vanessa to disappear once the investigation began.
Instead, she became more aggressive.
She issued statements accusing Adrian of poor management.
She defended the Riverside transaction as a necessary restructuring.
And she told employees that the company was facing financial problems because of what she called “outside interference.”
By outside interference, she meant my father and me.
I read the statement sitting at our kitchen table.
Dad was beside me, practicing exercises with his weakened hand.
“She's blaming us for the debt Malcolm created,” I said.
Dad flexed his fingers slowly.
“That's convenient.”
“Don't you get angry?”
“Of course.”
“You never seem angry enough.”
He looked at me.
“Would shouting help?”
“Sometimes it would make me feel better.”
He smiled faintly.
“Then shout at a pillow. Don't give people the satisfaction of watching you lose control.”
I laughed despite myself.
He returned to his exercises.
But when he thought I wasn't looking, I noticed tears in his eyes.
That hurt more than anything Vanessa had written.
Later that afternoon, she called me.
I almost ignored the number.
Then I answered.
“What do you want?”
“We need to talk.”
“Speak to my attorney.”
“This isn't something I can discuss with your attorney.”
“Then we have nothing to discuss.”
“Ella, listen.”
Something in her voice stopped me.
She sounded frightened.
Not irritated.
Not superior.
Frightened.
“Malcolm is going to destroy everybody involved in this.”
I stood.
“What are you talking about?”
“He knows Brooke is cooperating.”
“That's between Brooke and her attorney.”
“He also knows Adrian is handing over old records.”
“Good.”
Vanessa exhaled.
“You think you're winning.”
“I think we're finding the truth.”
“You don't understand how much money is involved.”
“I understand enough.”
“No, you don't.”
Her voice broke.
“You don't understand what Malcolm will do to protect himself.”
I looked toward Dad.
He was still practicing his exercises.
“What do you want from me?”
“A meeting.”
“Why?”
“Because I have something you need.”
I refused to meet privately.
Nia arranged a supervised conversation at her office with Vanessa's attorney present.
Vanessa arrived wearing a charcoal suit.
For once, she had no insulting comments about my clothes.
She barely looked at me.
Nia began.
“Ms. Holt, your attorney indicated you wished to discuss potentially relevant evidence.”
Vanessa glanced at the man beside her.
He nodded.
She looked at me.
“Malcolm Pierce is not the person you think he is.”
I almost laughed.
“I think he's a dishonest man trying to steal millions.”
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
She leaned forward.
“Malcolm has been using the company to support several private investments that are failing. Riverside was supposed to generate enough money to cover the losses.”
“By selling the factory?”
“By liquidating assets.”
“By putting three hundred people out of work?”
Vanessa looked away.
I felt my temper rise.
“Say it.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Say what was going to happen to the workers.”
Her face hardened.
“Some jobs would have been eliminated.”
“Hundreds.”
“That's the reality of restructuring.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“That's the reality of your decision.”
She stared at me.
For a moment, I saw the old Vanessa.
The woman who believed being wealthy made someone superior.
Then she looked down.
“I thought I was going to become a partner in the new company.”
“Riverside?”
She nodded.
“Malcolm offered me an ownership interest and a large management payment if the deal closed.”
“How large?”
“Three million dollars.”
I stared.
Three million dollars.
For years, she had mocked me for counting grocery coupons.
Now she was admitting she had considered destroying a factory for a payment larger than most workers would earn in decades.
“Did you know the sale price was too low?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Riverside wasn't independent?”
“Yes.”
“Did you help conceal the connection?”
Her attorney shifted.
Vanessa glanced at him.
Then she answered.
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
Nia continued asking questions.
Vanessa acknowledged that she had approved financial adjustments and authorized certain historical document changes.
She said Malcolm had directed much of the work.
She also admitted she had known the 2016 redemption agreement was questionable long before I entered Adrian's office.
Then I asked the question that had been hurting me for days.
“Why did you treat me that way?”
Vanessa looked surprised.
“What?”
“At work. The dress. The jokes about my father. Calling me a charity hire.”
Her expression became guarded.
“Ella, this isn't relevant to the financial investigation.”
“It matters to me.”
She looked at the table.
I waited.
Finally, she sighed.
“Because I knew who you were.”
The room went silent.
My heart began pounding.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
“Before you were hired.”
“How?”
“Malcolm told me.”
I gripped the edge of my chair.
“He knew I was Thomas Reed's daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he let me work there?”
Vanessa looked miserable.
“Because he wanted to know whether your father still had the original documents.”
I could barely breathe.
“You hired me to watch me?”
“Your application went through normal review, but Malcolm made sure it was approved.”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“We were told to report if you asked questions about the company's founding.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
The mocking.
The strange interest in my finances.
The way Vanessa always seemed to know when I requested archived records.
For eighteen months, I had believed I was invisible.
In reality, someone had been watching me.
“Did you ever try to help me?” I asked quietly.
Vanessa said nothing.
I stood.
“Did you ever once think about what you were doing?”
She looked up.
“I didn't expect any of this to happen.”
I stared at her.
“You didn't expect the daughter of the man you cheated to ask questions?”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought the documents were gone.”
I shook my head.
“So you thought you were safe.”
She began crying.
I didn't comfort her.
Her fear was real.
But so were her choices.
Nia ended the meeting after obtaining information that would need independent verification.
Vanessa's attorney said she was considering formal cooperation with investigators.
I left feeling exhausted.
Outside, autumn leaves moved across the sidewalk.
I called Dad.
No answer.
I waited a minute and tried again.
Still nothing.
I called our neighbor, Mrs. Alvarez, who sometimes checked on him when I worked late.
She answered immediately.
“Ella, honey, are you with your father?”
My stomach tightened.
“No. Why?”
“He left about an hour ago.”
“Left where?”
“A man came to pick him up.”
I froze.
“What man?”
“I couldn't see his face clearly. He was driving a dark sedan.”
“Did Dad seem upset?”
Mrs. Alvarez hesitated.
“He looked serious. He told me not to worry.”
My heart began racing.
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No.”
May you like
Then she added something that made my blood run cold.
“He was carrying that old metal coffee tin.”
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