Chapter 9 - Alec's Real AssignmentAlec looked at the floor.
Nina stared at him.
“You knew?”
He didn't respond.
“Alec.”
“I knew your sister was connected to Stonebridge.”
“How?”
“I was told.”
“By whom?”
Heloise closed her eyes.
Alec finally answered.
“Eleanor.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“She met you?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“So you knew about me before Nina?”
“Yes.”
Nina stepped backward.
“And you still pursued me.”
Alec's voice cracked.
“I didn't know what they were going to do.”
“That isn't true.”
“I was told your family had assets.”
“And?”
“I thought they wanted information.”
“What information?”
“Your sister's company.”
I looked at him.
“So the engagement was an assignment.”
“No.”
“At first.”
He rubbed his face.
“I started caring about Nina.”
Heloise laughed bitterly.
“That didn't stop you.”
He looked at her.
“You said we had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
Alec's eyes hardened.
“And you had yours.”
The two of them stared at each other.
I stepped between them.
“Enough.”
I wanted facts.
Not family theatrics.
“What was the assignment?”
Alec swallowed.
“Find out whether Stonebridge was privately controlled.”
“You knew.”
“Not at first.”
“How did you confirm it?”
He looked at me.
“Your grandmother's trust.”
I understood.
“Then why the agreement?”
“To isolate you.”
“From Nina.”
“Yes.”
“From Meridian.”
“Yes.”
“From your associates.”
“Yes.”
I nodded slowly.
The document had never been about manners.
It had been about removing me from Nina's world.
Alec continued.
“They needed Nina to sign the marriage documents before your company discovered the transfer structures.”
“Those documents weren't just debt guarantees.”
“No.”
“What were they?”
He hesitated.
“Beneficiary assignments.”
My heart stopped.
“Life insurance?”
“Yes.”
Nina looked horrified.
“For what?”
Alec couldn't answer.
I could.
A plan existed to take out a large life insurance policy on Nina shortly before the wedding.
My eyes met Marcus's.
“You knew.”
He nodded.
“But I didn't create it.”
“Who did?”
“Heloise.”
Nina turned toward her.
“No.”
Heloise began crying.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
For the first time, she looked old.
“I didn't want her dead.”
Everyone went silent.
“You wanted insurance.”
“I wanted the debt secured.”
“You knew what Marcus would do if the debt wasn't paid.”
Heloise nodded.
“You're saying you were protecting your son.”
“I was protecting everyone.”
“By turning Nina into collateral.”
Heloise looked at Nina.
“I was desperate.”
Nina wiped her tears.
“You gave me a contract.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe your family was judging me.”
“Yes.”
“You made me think my sister was embarrassing.”
Heloise looked away.
“I needed you isolated.”
Nina stared at her.
“You never loved me.”
Alec stepped toward Nina.
“I did.”
She turned.
“Then why did you sign?”
He had no answer.
The silence was enough.
My phone vibrated.
Lydia.
I answered.
“Tell me.”
“The federal review team has arrived.”
“For Meridian?”
“For everything.”
“What triggered it?”
“The receivership filing.”
I looked at Bridget.
She looked devastated.
Lydia continued.
“They've also found an encrypted account tied to Northbridge Holdings.”
“What's in it?”
“Transaction histories.”
“How far back?”
“Twenty-three years.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“Twenty-three?”
“Yes.”
“Whose name appears first?”
Lydia paused.
Then said:
“Your grandmother's.”
I looked at Heloise.
She covered her face.
Marcus stood.
“The past is catching up.”
I turned to him.
“No.”
I picked up the trust agreement.
“It isn't the past.”
I looked at Nina.
“It's the reason all of this is happening now.”
Then Lydia said something that made every other revelation seem small.
“The account contains one final record.”
“What record?”
“A transfer from your grandmother.”
“To whom?”
Lydia's voice lowered.
“To Marcus Vale's father.”
“For exactly the same amount as the original debt.”
I frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if the debt was already paid.”
I stared at Heloise.
She looked terrified.
May you like
Because if the debt had been paid twenty-five years ago, then every document they've used since was built on a lie.
And someone had kept that lie alive for a quarter of a century.
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