Chapter 10 - BARBARA'S PRICE
Detective Ruiz called state police within minutes.
The motel was located from metadata embedded in Daniel's earlier call.
Frank was gone when police arrived.
Daniel was alive.
Shaken.
Bruised.
But alive.
That should have been the good news.
Instead, he told investigators something worse.
Frank hadn't kidnapped him.
Daniel had voluntarily met him.
Why?
Because Frank offered him money.
Two hundred thousand dollars to disappear for six months.
My anger returned instantly.
When Daniel joined us by secure video call, I didn't soften my voice.
"You were going to take it?"
He looked ashamed.
"At first."
"You accused me of stealing from my own company."
"They threatened my daughter."
"And then offered you money."
"Yes."
"Which one changed your mind?"
His eyes filled.
"Maddie."
"Answer me."
"The threat."
I stared at him.
"I want to believe that."
"It's true."
"But you still met him."
"I thought I could get evidence."
"Did you?"
He lifted a small recorder.
Detective Ruiz smiled for the first time.
"Actually, he did."
Daniel had recorded twenty-seven minutes with Frank.
In that conversation, Frank never mentioned Barbara by name.
He called her "the client."
But he said enough.
The client wanted Daniel unavailable.
The client needed the accusations against me to remain believable for forty-eight hours.
The client wanted the board scared.
The client wanted Bradley protected.
And most importantly, the client needed me to sign a settlement before Monday.
Rachel folded her arms.
"Why Monday?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Because of the acquisition."
I frowned.
"What acquisition?"
Nobody spoke.
My stomach tightened.
"What acquisition?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"I found an offer last week."
"Offer for what?"
"Maddie Lane Creative."
My pulse jumped.
"From who?"
"Northstar Media Group."
I knew Northstar.
Everyone in our industry knew Northstar.
They bought high-growth creative agencies.
"They never contacted me."
"They contacted Bradley."
I stared at Daniel.
"Why would they contact my husband?"
"They thought he had authority."
"He doesn't."
"Someone gave them documents saying he did."
Rachel muttered something under her breath.
"How much?"
Daniel swallowed.
"The preliminary offer was forty-two million."
Nobody moved.
The number echoed in the room.
Forty-two million dollars.
Suddenly, the last eighteen months made brutal sense.
My company wasn't simply successful.
Someone believed it was about to become extraordinarily valuable.
Barbara didn't just want access to money.
She wanted leverage over a sale.
"Could Bradley sell my company?"
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"Not legally."
"But?"
"But if your postnup rights were challenged and he obtained temporary control through divorce proceedings..."
Rachel finished.
"He could create chaos around ownership."
"Enough chaos to force a settlement."
Daniel nodded.
I stood and walked away from the screen.
The pool.
The insults.
The altered agreement.
The forged signature.
The accusations.
It all pointed toward one purpose.
Break me quickly.
Force me to settle.
Take a piece of the company before the acquisition became public.
I turned toward Thomas.
"Did Barbara know about Northstar?"
His face answered before he spoke.
"Yes."
"How?"
"I heard Bradley mention it."
"When?"
"Two months ago."
"Did you know they were trying to sell my company?"
"No."
"You never know anything."
He accepted that too.
Rachel looked at him.
"Where would Barbara go if she knew police were coming?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Her sister has a house in Vermont."
Ruiz wrote it down.
"But she wouldn't go there."
"Why not?"
"Too obvious."
"Then where?"
Thomas looked at me.
"The lake house."
I frowned.
"What lake house?"
He blinked.
"The one outside Saratoga."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He looked confused.
"Bradley didn't tell you?"
"No."
Thomas stared at his son through the glass wall of the interview room.
Then back at me.
"Your husband bought a lake house last year."
My chest tightened.
"With what money?"
Thomas looked down.
"BWC Management."
My anger became strangely quiet.
"What kind of house?"
"Large."
"How large?"
"Maybe two million."
I laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Because sometimes betrayal becomes so ridiculous the body gives up choosing the correct emotion.
"They stole money guaranteed by my company and bought a lake house."
Thomas nodded.
"Who uses it?"
"Barbara mostly."
"Bradley?"
"Sometimes."
"With who?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Rachel looked at me.
My stomach dropped.
"No."
Thomas rubbed his forehead.
"Maddie."
"With who?"
"There was a woman."
The room became completely still.
Of course.
Of course there was.
"Name."
"I don't know."
"Thomas."
"I swear."
"What did she look like?"
"Young."
"How young?"
"Early thirties."
"Hair?"
"Dark."
My mind started flipping through employees.
Clients.
Friends.
Then Daniel spoke through the laptop.
"I know who she is."
Every face turned toward the screen.
May you like
He swallowed.
"Susan."
