Chapter 2 - THE DOCUMENT HE NEVER KNEW EXISTED
Nobody spoke.
Twenty men stared at me.
Tessa slowly stood.
Gavin forced a laugh.
“Baby, what are you doing here?”
“Watching.”
His smile disappeared.
“Watching what?”
I looked toward the camera mounted near the ceiling.
Gavin followed my eyes.
His face went pale.
I held up the folder.
“Everything.”
One of his friends muttered, “Oh, hell.”
Tessa folded her arms.
“This is inappropriate.”
I looked at her.
“So is sleeping with the groom.”
Her expression cracked.
Gavin jumped to his feet.
“Olivia, stop.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re emotional.”
That almost made me laugh.
“You were planning a romantic trip to Capri with another woman forty-eight hours after marrying me.”
I stepped closer.
“I’m actually surprisingly calm.”
He lowered his voice.
“Come outside.”
“No.”
“Olivia.”
“No.”
His friends shifted uncomfortably.
I pulled out the first document.
“This confirms MercerArc never received final approval from the Hart trust.”
Gavin blinked.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not.”
“We have the commitment.”
“You have provisional support.”
His jaw tightened.
“Same thing.”
“No.”
I pulled out the second document.
“This says provisional support can be terminated immediately if MercerArc’s officers materially misrepresent company finances or the purpose of related transactions.”
His face hardened.
“You can’t prove anything.”
I pointed at the camera.
“Actually, you did.”
Someone near the bar whispered, “Jesus.”
Tessa stepped toward me.
“You recorded a private conversation?”
“This is my hotel.”
Her face changed.
Gavin looked confused.
“What?”
I turned to Daniel.
“Would you like to explain?”
Daniel’s voice was calm.
“Ashborne House is owned by Hart Hospitality Holdings.”
Gavin stared at him.
Then at me.
“You told me your family invested here.”
“I said my family had an interest.”
“You lied.”
I almost admired the nerve.
“You cheated on me, planned to use my trust, mocked me in front of your friends, and now you’re accusing me of dishonesty?”
He rubbed his face.
“Okay.”
His voice softened.
“Everybody leave.”
Nobody moved.
“NOW!”
His friends began collecting jackets.
Tessa reached for her purse.
I stopped her.
“Stay.”
She stared at me.
Gavin snapped, “She’s leaving.”
“No.”
I pulled out the third document.
“You both need to hear this.”
Gavin’s eyes narrowed.
“What is that?”
“The reason you should have read the shareholder agreements.”
He looked genuinely lost.
MercerArc had nearly collapsed eighteen months earlier.
Gavin had come to me terrified.
Suppliers wanted payment.
Investors were disappearing.
Banks were refusing additional credit.
My family trust stepped in.
But we didn’t simply give Gavin money.
We purchased convertible preferred shares through a holding company.
Gavin apparently never bothered reading the final control provisions.
I placed the document on the table.
“If MercerArc defaults on its obligations or commits material fraud, Hart Capital can convert its preferred position.”
Gavin stared at me.
“So?”
“So we become majority voting owners.”
His face went blank.
I continued.
“And according to the numbers Miriam obtained this afternoon, your company has already defaulted.”
Gavin stopped breathing.
Tessa looked at him.
“What numbers?”
I watched his eyes.
That was when I knew.
He had been hiding something even from her.
“Gavin?”
Tessa grabbed his arm.
“What numbers?”
He pulled away.
I leaned closer.
“Tell her.”
Gavin said nothing.
So I did.
“MercerArc is missing eleven million dollars.”
Tessa stepped backward.
“What?”
“And someone authorized transfers to three offshore consulting companies.”
Gavin looked at me with pure hatred.
“You went through my accounts.”
“No.”
I smiled.
“Your CFO came to us.”
The room went silent again.
Then the bachelor-suite door opened.
Miriam Cole walked in carrying another folder.
She wasn’t supposed to arrive until morning.
Which meant something had changed.
She looked directly at me.
“Olivia.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
Miriam glanced at Gavin.
May you like
Then she said, “We found where the money went.”
Gavin lunged for the documents.
