Chapter 8 - Brenda’s Last Bargain
Brenda arrived at Escalante Tower the next morning without an appointment.
This time, she didn’t wear diamonds.
She wore sunglasses and a plain black coat.
“I need to see Mariana.”
The receptionist looked at her.
“Ms. Escalante is unavailable.”
Brenda placed a flash drive on the desk.
“Tell her I have something she wants.”
Twenty minutes later, Brenda entered a conference room.
Mariana sat alone.
Brenda removed her sunglasses.
“You look different behind a billion-dollar desk.”
Mariana didn’t react.
“You look different without my husband beside you.”
Brenda’s mouth tightened.
Mariana pointed toward the chair.
“Sit.”
Brenda remained standing.
“I want immunity.”
Mariana almost laughed.
“I’m not a prosecutor.”
“You have lawyers.”
“Yes.”
“Then make it happen.”
“No.”
Brenda stared at her.
“Then you don’t get this.”
She held up the flash drive.
Mariana leaned back.
“What’s on it?”
“Andrew’s records.”
“Which records?”
“The ones he thought nobody knew existed.”
Mariana studied her.
“Why betray him?”
Brenda laughed bitterly.
“He betrayed me first.”
“You framed me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched him hit me.”
Brenda’s smile disappeared.
Mariana continued.
“You helped him humiliate me.”
“I know.”
“And now you want my help?”
“I want protection.”
“From Andrew?”
Brenda hesitated.
That hesitation mattered.
Mariana noticed.
“Who are you afraid of?”
Brenda looked toward the glass wall.
Then back at Mariana.
“Victor Hale.”
Mariana’s expression changed slightly.
Victor Hale was a private lender with a reputation for buying distressed companies.
“What does Hale have to do with Andrew?”
“Everything.”
Brenda sat down.
“Andrew’s company was failing long before you knew.”
“I knew.”
“No.”
Brenda shook her head.
“You knew about the debt.”
She tapped the flash drive.
“You didn’t know why.”
Mariana said nothing.
“Andrew borrowed from Hale before your family started rescuing him.”
“How much?”
“Fifteen million.”
“Why?”
“To hide losses from the board.”
Mariana’s jaw tightened.
Brenda continued.
“When your money started coming in, Andrew used some of it to repay Hale.”
“That explains the transfers.”
“Not all of them.”
“What else?”
Brenda swallowed.
“Hale wanted ownership.”
Mariana’s eyes narrowed.
“Of Whitmore?”
“Eventually.”
Brenda looked down.
“But Andrew promised him something bigger.”
Mariana waited.
Brenda whispered the answer.
“Access to Escalante.”
Silence filled the room.
Mariana’s face became unreadable.
“How?”
“He thought eventually you would inherit control.”
“He knew?”
“Not at first.”
Mariana leaned forward.
“When did he find out?”
“About eighteen months ago.”
The room seemed to become colder.
Mariana stared at Brenda.
Andrew knew.
For eighteen months.
He had known who she was.
He had known she was an Escalante.
And he had continued letting his mother mock her poverty.
He had continued cheating.
He had continued pretending.
Mariana’s voice barely rose above a whisper.
“Prove it.”
Brenda pushed the flash drive across the table.
“There are recordings.”
Mariana looked at it.
“What recordings?”
“Andrew and Hale.”
Mariana inserted the drive.
The first audio file began.
Victor’s voice came first.
“When does Mariana take control?”
Andrew answered.
“Eventually.”
“And she still thinks you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
Victor laughed.
Then Andrew said the words that destroyed whatever remained of Mariana’s marriage.
“Let her keep believing that.”
A pause.
“As long as she loves me, Escalante money stays close.”
Mariana stopped the recording.
Brenda watched her.
For several seconds, Mariana said nothing.
Then she removed the flash drive.
Her eyes were dry.
Her voice was calm.
“Thank you.”
Brenda blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“What about me?”
Mariana stood.
“You wanted protection.”
“Yes.”
“Talk to federal investigators.”
Brenda’s face went pale.
“You said—”
“I promised nothing.”
Mariana walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“But if you tell them everything before Andrew does...”
She looked back.
“They may find your cooperation interesting.”
Brenda stared at her.
May you like
Mariana opened the door.
“Your move.”
