Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN AT THE LAKE HOUSE
I didn't cry when Daniel told me.
That surprised everyone.
It surprised me most.
Susan Hart.
My former controller.
The woman I trusted with payroll, vendor payments, contracts, and tax records.
The woman who hugged me in my office and said leaving the company was the hardest decision of her life.
She hadn't left to care for her mother.
She had left because she was sleeping with my husband.
Detective Ruiz found the lake house within twenty minutes.
Owned by Magnolia Creek Capital.
That company traced back to BWC Management.
Barbara again.
State police went there.
Nobody was inside.
But someone had left recently.
Coffee was still warm.
A suitcase sat open upstairs.
And on the kitchen counter was a laptop.
Registered to Susan.
I sat beside Rachel while investigators processed the house.
Bradley remained at the station.
I still hadn't confronted him about Susan.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I wanted him to wonder what I knew.
At 8:30 that night, Ruiz finally let us hear one of the recordings recovered from the flash drive.
Bradley's voice came first.
"This is too much."
Barbara answered.
"You want half of her company or not?"
My jaw tightened.
Bradley said.
"I don't want half."
Barbara laughed.
"Then you're stupider than I thought."
Silence.
Then Bradley.
"I just want enough to start over."
"With Susan?"
Another silence.
My stomach turned.
Bradley whispered.
"Keep her out of this."
Barbara laughed again.
"You're cheating on a woman worth thirty million dollars with her employee and asking me to keep things simple?"
My hands went cold.
Bradley answered.
"I love Susan."
For the first time since the pool, something inside me cracked.
Not enough to break me.
Just enough to hurt.
Rachel looked at me.
I kept listening.
Barbara said.
"Love doesn't pay legal bills."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Get Maddie angry."
"She doesn't get angry."
"Everyone gets angry."
"What if she doesn't?"
"Humiliate her."
My throat tightened.
Bradley didn't respond.
Barbara continued.
"Use the family."
"Mom."
"You know how she hates being disrespected."
"That's messed up."
"So is adultery."
Silence.
Then Bradley said something I would never forget.
"Fine."
One word.
Fine.
Not no.
Not I'm leaving.
Not don't hurt her.
Fine.
Barbara continued.
"Once she reacts physically, we document it."
"And then?"
"The lawyers handle the rest."
Bradley sighed.
"I don't want anybody actually hurting her."
Barbara laughed softly.
"Of course not."
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Detective Ruiz stopped the audio.
I looked at the wall.
Bradley hadn't invented the plan.
That distinction didn't matter.
He had agreed.
"Can I speak to him?"
Rachel frowned.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
Ruiz allowed it with an officer present.
Bradley sat at a metal table.
He looked up when I entered.
His face collapsed immediately.
"You heard it."
I sat down.
"Yes."
"Maddie."
"How long?"
He swallowed.
"Susan?"
"Yes."
"About a year."
I nodded once.
He started crying.
"I was going to tell you."
"No."
"I was."
"No."
"You don't know that."
"I know you filed divorce papers three months ago."
His face went white.
"Where did you get those?"
"Your father."
He closed his eyes.
"Jesus."
"How long were you going to keep sleeping beside me?"
No answer.
"Until the settlement?"
"No."
"Until the company sold?"
"No."
"Until your mother took enough money?"
"I didn't know she took that much."
"How much theft were you comfortable with?"
He looked at me.
"Maddie, I know how this sounds."
I almost smiled.
"That may be the stupidest thing you've ever said."
He rubbed his face.
"I was angry."
"At me?"
"At everything."
"Be specific."
"My company was failing."
"And mine wasn't."
His silence answered.
I leaned back.
"There it is."
"It wasn't jealousy."
"It was."
"You stopped needing me."
I stared at him.
"I never needed you to fail."
He looked down.
"You were always traveling."
"I was working."
"You made every decision."
"Because you stopped showing up."
"I felt invisible."
"And your solution was stealing from me and sleeping with my controller?"
"No."
"Then what was your solution?"
He couldn't answer.
I stood.
Bradley grabbed the edge of the table.
"Wait."
I stopped.
"Susan has the originals."
"I know."
His head snapped up.
"What?"
"I know about the documents."
Fear moved across his face.
"Then you need to find her."
"Police are looking."
"No."
He shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"What?"
"My mom isn't looking for Susan."
His breathing changed.
"Frank is."
"Why?"
"Because Susan kept copies of everything."
"So?"
"So she told me if Barbara ever tried to blame us for the fraud, she'd destroy her."
My stomach tightened.
"With what?"
Bradley leaned forward.
"A recording."
"Of what?"
His face went pale.
"My mother admitting she changed your postnup."
I stared at him.
Bradley continued.
"And Maddie..."
"What?"
"She says Mom isn't the only person on it."
I waited.
He looked toward the officer.
May you like
Then back at me.
"Your lawyer is."
