Chapter 3 - The Company He Stole.
Grant drove away from Beacon Crest faster than Vanessa had ever seen him drive.
She sat beside him with the ivory maternity coat folded across her knees.
"You need to slow down."
Grant ignored her.
"Grant."
"I heard you."
"What did your attorney say?"
He gripped the steering wheel.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
He looked at her sharply.
"Then stop asking questions."
Vanessa recoiled.
For months, Grant had treated her like the prize waiting at the end of his marriage.
He bought her jewelry.
He rented her a luxury condominium.
He promised that once Emma was gone, they would live without anyone controlling them.
Now his first instinct was to blame her.
Vanessa touched her stomach.
"Our baby doesn't need this stress."
Grant laughed once.
The sound held no warmth.
"Your company received almost five million dollars from mine."
Vanessa went still.
"Excuse me?"
"Vantage."
She looked out the window.
Grant saw the movement.
"So you knew."
"Of course I knew."
"You told me it was legal."
"It is legal."
"Then why did Whitmore's attorney have the records?"
Vanessa's face changed.
"How would I know?"
Grant slammed his palm against the steering wheel.
"Because Beacon Crest rejected the equipment."
Vanessa snapped back.
"That was your problem."
The words landed heavily.
Grant looked at her.
"My problem?"
"You were responsible for getting hospital contracts."
"And you were responsible for certification."
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"We used the documents our manufacturer supplied."
"You told me everything passed federal standards."
"It did."
"Then why are two hospitals reporting failures?"
Vanessa said nothing.
Grant felt cold despite the summer heat outside.
He pulled into the underground parking garage beneath their office building.
The moment the elevator doors opened upstairs, he knew something was wrong.
Employees were standing in clusters.
Several computers were shut down.
The chief financial officer rushed toward him.
"Grant."
"What happened?"
"We received preservation notices."
Grant stopped.
"From who?"
"State health regulators, federal investigators, and attorneys representing Whitmore Health."
Grant's mouth went dry.
Vanessa stepped back.
The CFO lowered his voice.
"They want every record connected to Vantage Clinical Solutions."
Grant turned toward Vanessa.
Her face had lost all color.
"Where are the vendor certification files?" he asked.
She swallowed.
"At the warehouse."
"Which warehouse?"
Vanessa stared at him.
Grant moved closer.
"Which warehouse?"
She whispered an address.
He recognized it immediately.
It was a storage facility twenty miles outside the city.
Grant had never been there.
The CFO continued.
"There's another problem."
Grant looked at him.
"The bank froze the operating credit line."
"What?"
"They received notice of an ownership dispute and pending regulatory review."
Grant walked toward his office.
"This is temporary."
The CFO followed.
"Payroll is Friday."
"I know when payroll is."
"We can't cover it without the line."
Grant turned.
"Sell liquid investments."
"There aren't enough."
Grant stared at him.
"Where's the reserve account?"
The CFO's silence answered first.
"What reserve account?"
"The eight million dollars."
The CFO looked confused.
"We haven't had eight million in reserves for months."
Grant slowly turned toward Vanessa.
She was backing toward the elevator.
"Where are you going?"
"I need some air."
"No."
Employees looked over.
Grant lowered his voice.
"You're staying."
Vanessa's eyes hardened.
"You don't control me."
"No, apparently I just transferred millions to your shell company."
She slapped him.
The sound echoed across the office.
Grant stared at her.
Vanessa seemed shocked by her own action.
Then the elevator opened behind her.
Two investigators stepped out.
They were accompanied by a uniformed officer.
The taller investigator showed identification.
"Grant Holloway?"
Grant's face went blank.
"Yes."
"We're here to serve a records preservation order."
The second investigator looked at Vanessa.
"And Vanessa Cole?"
Vanessa froze.
"We have one for you too."
Grant turned toward her.
A terrible thought formed.
"What did you do with the money?"
Vanessa's eyes filled with panic.
"Not here."
"What did you do?"
She whispered through clenched teeth.
"I moved some of it."
"Where?"
The investigators were approaching.
Vanessa looked at Grant.
Then she said something that made him forget everyone else in the room.
"I thought we were leaving the country after the divorce."
Grant stared at her.
"We never discussed leaving the country."
Vanessa's breathing became shallow.
"No."
She shook her head.
"You never discussed it."
That night, while Emma sat beside Noah and Elise, Daniel received an alert from the forensic accounting team.
A transfer had been discovered.
Three-point-two million dollars had moved from Vantage into an offshore account forty-eight hours before Emma's emergency delivery.
The beneficiary was not Vanessa.
It was Grant.
Emma read the report twice.
Then she looked at her grandfather.
"He planned to leave her too."
Charles nodded slowly.
Emma stared at the transaction.
Grant had betrayed his wife.
He had betrayed his children.
And apparently, he had been preparing to betray his mistress.
May you like
But beneath the transfer was one detail nobody had expected.
The authorization code used to move the money belonged to Emma.
