Chapter 7 - JONATHAN FINALLY ASKED WHO I WAS
Jonathan came to Vanguard’s Baltimore office three days later.
He made it past reception only because security called me instead of removing him immediately.
I agreed to see him in a conference room with Rebecca present.
His face looked wrecked.
No sleep.
No wedding polish.
No confidence.
“You run this place?”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“All this time?”
“Yes.”
“And you let me think you were an assistant?”
“I wanted a husband who loved me without knowing what I controlled.”
His face twisted.
“So our marriage was a test?”
“No. My money was private. Your behavior was your choice.”
He paced toward the window.
“My company’s financing—”
“Is under review.”
“You can’t kill NexoCloud because my mother slapped you around and some old ring appeared in a drain.”
Rebecca stood immediately.
I stayed seated.
“My mother-in-law did not slap me. You did.”
Jonathan stopped pacing.
The room went very quiet.
I continued.
“And the ring belonged to my missing sister.”
His expression changed.
Not enough for a confession.
Enough for me to notice.
“You knew her name,” I said.
He looked at me.
“What?”
“Amelia Davis.”
“I’ve heard it now.”
“Before now?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Rebecca noticed too.
I asked another question.
“When you were sixteen, did you ever see a young woman arguing with your parents at the estate?”
Jonathan rubbed his face.
“No.”
“Did you hear anything?”
“No.”
“Did your mother make you stay upstairs?”
Something flickered.
Tiny.
Terrible.
Then he looked away.
“You’re trying to turn me into part of a murder because I lost my temper once.”
Once.
That word ended something inside me more completely than the slap had.
Rebecca slid the divorce petition toward him.
“You’ve been formally served electronically, Mr. Miller. A physical copy will follow.”
He stared at the papers.
Then at me.
“What about the investment?”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“My sister may have died protecting evidence tied to the money that eventually helped build your company.”
I leaned forward.
“And you’re still asking me about the investment.”
He left without another word.
Rebecca waited until the door shut.
“He knows something.”
May you like
“Yes.”
The question was how much.
