Chapter 3 - The First Call
Grant woke at 6:41 a.m.
I know because he called me at 6:42.
Then again at 6:44.
Then six more times before seven.
I didn't answer.
At 7:03, his tone changed.
Claire, call me.
At 7:11, another message arrived.
Whatever you told your father, fix it.
At 7:18, he stopped pretending.
You have no idea what you're doing.
I was sitting in my father's penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan when the ninth message appeared.
Arthur placed a cup of coffee beside me.
“Don't respond.”
“I wasn't going to.”
My father sat across from me.
Daniel entered carrying three folders.
“First investor is out.”
Arthur nodded.
“Which one?”
“NorthBridge.”
That name meant something even to me.
NorthBridge Capital had invested nearly seventy million dollars into Grant's riverfront project.
“Can they just leave?”
“They had a misconduct clause tied to disclosure failures.”
Daniel placed a document on the table.
“They were already concerned.”
My father looked at me.
“Last night accelerated their decision.”
I felt strangely guilty.
“They're pulling seventy million dollars because he hit me?”
“No.”
Arthur's voice sharpened.
“They're pulling seventy million dollars because their auditors discovered Whitmore may have provided inconsistent occupancy projections.”
He tapped the folder.
“Your assault made them reconsider whether they trusted the man explaining those inconsistencies.”
My phone rang again.
This time it was Vanessa.
I almost laughed.
Arthur noticed.
“Who?”
“Her.”
He said nothing.
I answered.
“Claire?”
Vanessa sounded breathless.
Gone was the smug woman wearing my robe.
“What?”
“Grant is freaking out.”
I looked at my father.
“He says your dad is trying to ruin everything.”
“My father isn't responsible for Grant's bookkeeping.”
Silence.
Then she whispered.
“I didn't know he was going to hit you.”
“You smiled.”
“I was scared.”
“You wore my earrings.”
“He gave them to me.”
“They belonged to my mother.”
Vanessa stopped breathing for a second.
Then she said something that changed everything.
“Claire, I think Grant has been lying to me too.”
I stood.
Arthur immediately looked up.
“What do you mean?”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“He told me the house was already transferred into his name.”
My skin went cold.
“That house is held in a trust.”
“I know that now.”
She started crying.
“He told me you had signed everything.”
“What everything?”
Another silence.
Then Vanessa whispered.
“The divorce papers.”
I had never seen divorce papers.
May you like
But Grant apparently had.
And according to his mistress, they already carried my signature.
