Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO PLAYED BOTH SIDES
Adrian admitted forwarding the audit requests.
He claimed Katherine threatened to expose his role in the Hearthline payments if he stopped helping her.
His own signature appeared on dozens of questionable transfers.
He had not created the vendor.
He had kept it functioning.
The board terminated him for cause and referred the records to authorities.
His cooperation agreement disappeared.
Any future consideration would depend on full disclosure.
Before his access was disabled, Adrian copied the audit’s evidence map and sent it to Katherine.
She now knew which bank accounts, devices, and witnesses mattered.
Within hours, two company laptops were reported missing.
A storage unit associated with Hearthline had been emptied.
The investigation did not collapse because court orders had already preserved bank records and cloud backups.
But Adrian’s betrayal cost time.
Katherine used that time to file for a temporary injunction seeking reinstatement as chief executive.
Her employment agreement required board notice and a formal cause determination. The suspension had been valid, but termination remained incomplete.
She argued that I had directed the result before the board reviewed evidence.
My phone call at the dinner became central.
“Have Katherine terminated.”
The exact words sounded like a verdict issued before process.
Dana prepared me for the hearing.
“Do not claim the statement meant nothing.”
“It meant exactly what it sounded like.”
“Then explain the distinction.”
“I wanted her removed. The board still had to do it lawfully.”
The judge upheld the suspension but ordered the board to complete a formal hearing before final termination.
Katherine did not return to management.
She gained a platform to accuse me publicly.
At the same time, the trust court froze distributions from Hearthline’s parent trust.
Richard and Eleanor could pay ordinary living expenses but not move large sums or destroy records.
They called the order elder abuse.
I did not respond publicly.
Clara’s bruises faded.
Her fear did not.
She stopped sitting in chairs chosen by anyone else. At restaurants, she waited for me to sit first, then asked permission three times.
A therapist began working with her through play rather than repeated questioning.
One afternoon, Clara arranged dolls around a miniature table.
She placed one doll on the floor.
“What happened to her?” the therapist asked.
“She sat where the big girl could see her.”
“Why did the big girl care?”
“Because Grandpa said Mommy had to go before the bell.”
The therapist did not press.
Later, the statement reached investigators.
Before the bell.
Before six.
Richard had used a child to help create a scene timed to the acquisition closing.
The betrayal was larger than protecting Katherine after the fact.
He had placed Clara in the chair.
Eleanor requested a private meeting with me.
She arrived without Richard or counsel.
Her hands shook as she placed a small flash drive on the table.
“I did not know Katherine would push Clara.”
“But you knew there would be a confrontation.”
“I thought she would yell. Richard said Jocelyn always leaves when insulted.”
“Did you impersonate me for the notary?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“He said it was temporary paperwork.”
“Did you?”
She could not say the word.
She nodded.
Then she looked at the flash drive.
“Richard kept the real share ledger at home.”
The drive contained photographs of the original pages.
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My eighteen-percent ownership had never been legally transferred.
Richard and Katherine had been using my shares for eight years.
