Chapter 7: Monday Morning
Marcus arrived at Rhodes Capital at nine-fifteen.
I knew because the front desk called Julian's assistant, and his assistant appeared in the doorway of the conference room where Julian, Daniel, and I had already been seated for forty minutes.
"Mr.
Mercer is in the lobby," she said.
Julian looked at Daniel.
Daniel nodded.
"Send him up," Julian said.
The conference room was on the thirty-second floor, floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides, the Boston skyline flat and grey under October cloud cover.
A long table.
Six chairs.
Water glasses.
A closed laptop at Julian's place and a manila folder in front of Daniel that he hadn't opened yet.
I was seated to Julian's left.
I had chosen that seat deliberately — not at the far end, not tucked away.
Present.
Visible.
Marcus stepped through the door and stopped.
He had prepared for Julian.
He had prepared for flagged financials and a difficult conversation about the acquisition.
He had not prepared for Daniel Foss sitting at the table with a folder in front of him, and he had not prepared for me.
His eyes moved from Daniel to me and back again.
"Evelyn." His voice was controlled.
"I didn't realize this was a joint meeting."
"Sit down, Marcus," Julian said.
Marcus sat.
He set his briefcase on the floor and straightened his jacket and looked at the folder in front of Daniel without looking at it directly, the way a person looks at something they are pretending not to see.
"I reviewed the flagged items," Marcus said.
"My CFO believes it's a classification issue.
Easily corrected."
"That's one possibility," Julian said.
"Daniel, do you want to start?"
Daniel opened the folder.
He placed the original Weston deed on the table.
Then the amended version.
Then a side-by-side comparison his attorney had prepared, with the signature discrepancy highlighted in yellow.
Marcus looked at them.
"That's a matter between Daniel and my legal team."
"It's a matter of forgery," Daniel said.
His voice was steady.
Whatever he had felt on the phone two nights ago had been compressed into something flat and precise.
"My signature was removed from a document I signed.
That's not a classification issue."
"Daniel—"
"I have the notarized original.
My attorney has already filed a complaint with the Registry of Deeds."
Marcus's jaw moved.
"You filed without calling me first."
"You amended a deed without calling me first."
Silence.
Julian opened his laptop.
He turned it to face Marcus.
On the screen were the Delaware account filings — the shell companies, the routing numbers, the incorporation dates.
"These accounts were opened during your marriage to Evelyn," Julian said.
"One of them carries her name as a listed officer.
She had no knowledge of this account and no access to it.
We have documentation confirming that."
Marcus looked at the screen.
Then at me.
"Evelyn." His voice shifted — lower, almost private, as if Julian and Daniel weren't in the room.
"Whatever you think you've found, you need to understand the context.
Those structures were standard practice.
My attorney—"
"Your attorney," I said, "advised you in writing that the account with my name would cause an investigator to pause.
We have that email."
The color left his face the same way it had at the wedding.
But this time there was no champagne glass to hold.
"That email is privileged," he said.
"It was forwarded to your accountant," Julian said.
"Privilege doesn't survive voluntary disclosure to a third party."
Marcus was quiet for a long moment.
Then he reached down and picked up his briefcase.
"I want to speak to my attorney before this goes any further."
"Of course," Julian said.
"But before you go — the acquisition is suspended pending a full forensic audit of Mercer Group's financials.
I'll have my team send the formal notice this afternoon."
Marcus stood.
His chair scraped back.
He looked at Daniel.
"Twenty-two years."
"Twenty-two years," Daniel said.
"And you still thought I wouldn't notice."
Marcus looked at me last.
I thought he might say something.
The line he had been saving, the exit speech, the version of events where he was still the one who had made the smart decision.
"You should have stayed gone," he said.
"I did stay gone," I said.
"You came to find me."
He left without answering.
The door closed behind him.
Daniel let out a long breath and pushed the folder to the center of the table.
Julian's phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, then at me.
May you like
"My attorney," he said.
"She's ready to file."
