Chapter 5 - THE MISSING NURSE
Elena Ward had disappeared eleven months earlier.
No forwarding address.
No new employment record.
No social media.
Nothing.
It was as if she had stopped existing the morning after Charles Carrington died.
Evelyn canceled the wedding.
Three hundred guests were escorted from the hotel.
By midnight, videos of the interrupted ceremony were everywhere.
Headlines exploded across financial media.
CARRINGTON-VALE MERGER IN CRISIS.
BILLION-DOLLAR WEDDING COLLAPSES AT ALTAR.
VALE FAMILY FACES QUESTIONS.
Evelyn didn't care.
She remained inside a private hotel suite with Noah, Adrian, and Martin.
Richard had left with his attorneys.
That worried her more than if he had stayed.
"Tell me everything," Evelyn said.
Martin stared at his hands.
"Your father discovered the transfers about eight months before his death."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"He wanted proof."
"Against Richard?"
"Against everyone involved."
Noah leaned forward.
"Who else?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
Martin looked at him.
"I knew pieces."
"Then give us the pieces."
Martin swallowed.
"Charles believed somebody inside Carrington Global was approving transactions after he rejected them."
Evelyn frowned.
"Only four people had authorization."
"Charles."
"Me."
"Noah."
"And our CFO."
Noah looked offended.
"You think it was me?"
"I don't know what to think anymore," Evelyn said.
Adrian had been silent.
Finally, he spoke.
"What about Elena?"
Martin looked at him.
"She worked privately for Richard."
Adrian stiffened.
"My father?"
"She was a licensed nurse, but Richard paid her through a consulting company."
"Why?"
"I never knew."
Evelyn leaned closer.
"Why was she with my father?"
Martin hesitated.
"Charles had been experiencing unusual symptoms."
"What symptoms?"
"Dizziness."
"Chest pain."
"Confusion."
"His doctor couldn't explain them."
Evelyn remembered.
Her father had complained about exhaustion during his final months.
Everyone blamed stress.
Martin continued.
"Charles began suspecting someone was interfering with his medication."
The room became silent.
Adrian stood.
"No."
Martin looked at him.
"Elena contacted Charles privately."
"What did she say?"
"She said Richard had asked her questions about medications that could worsen an existing heart condition."
Adrian's face went white.
Evelyn stared at him.
"Did you know?"
"No."
"Did you know anything?"
"I knew my father hated Charles."
"That's not an answer."
Adrian's eyes filled with anger.
"I knew he wanted the company."
"Did you know he was stealing from us?"
"No."
"Did you know he was meeting my father?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Yes."
Noah slammed his fist onto the table.
Evelyn raised a hand.
"Let him finish."
Adrian looked at her.
"Your father asked me to meet him that night."
"Why?"
"He wanted me to help expose my father."
Evelyn froze.
"What?"
"He knew I was uncomfortable with the merger strategy."
"So you went to him."
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"We argued."
"About Richard?"
"About you."
Evelyn's expression changed.
Adrian looked ashamed.
"Charles knew I loved you."
"And?"
"He thought my father would use that."
Evelyn remembered Charles's warning months before his death.
The Vales don't love people, Evie.
They acquire them.
She had called him paranoid.
"What happened after the argument?"
"I left."
"What time?"
"11:48."
"The photo says 11:42."
"That's right."
"And my father collapsed around midnight."
Adrian nodded.
"I didn't hurt him."
"Can you prove it?"
"No."
Martin suddenly spoke.
"Elena can."
Everyone turned toward him.
"She called me the next morning."
Evelyn's heart raced.
"What did she say?"
Martin looked directly at her.
"She said Charles was still alive when Adrian left."
Adrian exhaled.
"But someone else entered the office."
Evelyn gripped the table.
"Who?"
May you like
Martin whispered the name.
"Your brother."
