Chapter 6 - Caleb Came to Geneva
He arrived six weeks after the crash.
Not unexpectedly.
Naomi arranged the meeting.
Neutral conference room at Ara’s rehabilitation center.
My leg was still braced.
I entered with a cane.
Caleb stood when he saw me.
For one second, he looked like my husband again.
He almost crossed the room.
I said:
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
“You look better.”
“I nearly died.”
“I know.”
“No.”
I sat down.
“You know now.”
His face tightened.
“I was scared.”
“For Khloe.”
“For both of you.”
“You told the surgeon I could wait.”
“She has a heart condition.”
“She had bruises.”
“I didn’t know that yet.”
“Dr. Evans told you.”
He looked away.
That was enough.
I slid the power-of-attorney proposal across the table.
“Why?”
“Because you left the country after major surgery.”
“You drafted incapacity language.”
“My attorneys did.”
“At your direction.”
“I wanted to protect you.”
“What transaction needed my signature?”
His head lifted.
There.
Not surprise.
Calculation.
“I don't know what you mean.”
I placed the partnership summary beside the power of attorney.
His face changed almost imperceptibly.
Thirty-four percent.
Seventy-five-percent threshold.
$1.4 billion transaction.
“Did you know?”
He remained silent.
“Caleb.”
“My mother discussed it.”
“When?”
“After the crash.”
I stared.
“Lie again and this meeting ends.”
His jaw tightened.
Then:
“Before we married.”
My entire body went cold.
“How long before?”
“Months.”
“Did you know when you proposed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know when I signed the prenup?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Ara was trying to talk to me about the trust?”
“No.”
That answer came faster.
Maybe true.
Maybe not.
“What did your mother tell you to do?”
“Nothing.”
“Caleb.”
“She wanted me to make sure you understood Blackwood Health was your family's legacy too.”
“My family?”
“You married into it.”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
I tapped the trust document.
“I inherited into it.”
He flinched.
Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.
“Did you marry me for the trust?”
His eyes filled.
“No.”
“Would you have approached me if I weren’t Elena Sinclair’s daughter?”
Silence.
Not long.
Long enough.
I stood.
May you like
The answer was not complete.
But it had finally begun.
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