Chapter 6 - THE VICE CHAIR’S WARNING
Helena denied warning Spencer to exclude me.
She agreed to an interview with the special committee and brought two attorneys.
“I knew Spencer was married,” she said. “I did not know his wife was Phoebe Sterling.”
“Did you commission background work on her?” outside counsel asked.
“No.”
“Did you receive the Sterling public-record report?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Did you advise Spencer regarding gala attendance?”
“I told every transaction sponsor that guests should avoid creating distractions during the vote.”
“Did you refer to his wife specifically?”
“I may have said a difficult spouse could create concern.”
I watched from a separate room through a secure feed because the committee allowed me to observe sections concerning my personal information, though I could not question her directly.
Helena’s answers were controlled.
Not obviously false.
Not complete.
She admitted sponsoring Conway Systems after Paisley introduced the company through an industry forum.
Paisley had worked as a communications consultant for several portfolio firms.
Helena said the proposed eighty-million-dollar investment was justified by Conway’s growth projections and proprietary software.
The software became the next problem.
Conway Systems claimed its logistics platform could reduce industrial shipping delays by predicting equipment failures and rerouting supplies.
Apex technical reviewers discovered that portions of the code resembled an unreleased tool developed by an Apex subsidiary called Meridian Freight.
Similarity did not automatically prove theft.
Software systems often shared libraries, public methods, and industry architecture.
But one internal variable contained a spelling error unique to Meridian’s early test build.
Someone had transferred protected material.
Spencer denied knowing.
His chief technology officer, Daniel Reese, said the disputed module came from an outside contractor.
The contractor company had dissolved.
Its final payment came through P.D. Advisory.
Paisley’s company.
When questioned, Paisley’s attorneys requested additional time.
That evening, she called me directly.
“You should not be contacting me,” I said.
“I know.”
“Your counsel can speak to mine.”
“They are protecting the account, not me.”
“What do you want?”
“To meet.”
“Why?”
“Because Spencer is letting everyone believe I created this.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
The word hurt less than I expected.
Perhaps humiliation has a limit beyond which new facts merely confirm the structure.
“Then you did create part of it.”
“I did not forge your signature or steal software.”
“Where did the $12.4 million come from?”
“I cannot discuss that on an unsecured call.”
“Then contact the committee.”
“I don’t know who on the committee reports to Helena.”
“Helena is not on it.”
“She has people everywhere.”
Fear sounded different from performance.
“Have you been threatened?”
“Not directly.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone entered my apartment and moved nothing except a framed photograph of my daughter.”
I had not known Paisley had a child.
“She is eleven,” Paisley said. “She lives with her father in Pittsburgh. No one in Spencer’s circle knew about her.”
“Call the police.”
“I did. They documented the entry. There was no forced access.”
“Then give the information to counsel.”
“I need one thing first.”
“What?”
“Proof Spencer lied to me too.”
I almost laughed.
“You sent his wife a photograph from his car.”
“I know what I did.”
“Do you?”
Her voice tightened.
“He told me your marriage was an arrangement. He said you refused intimacy, refused events, refused to support his work, and would leave once the funding closed.”
“And you found that convenient.”
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised me.
“I wanted his life,” she continued. “I thought he had built it. I did not know he was living inside yours.”
That sentence stayed with me.
We arranged a meeting through Naomi at a law office the next morning.
Paisley arrived without jewelry, wearing a dark coat and carrying a laptop in a sealed evidence bag provided by her attorney.
She had agreed to cooperate with the special committee under a limited confidentiality arrangement. No immunity. No promise that her conduct would be excused.
She opened a series of messages from Spencer.
Several concerned me.
P: Is Phoebe coming tonight?
S: No. Helena said keep her away.
P: Why would Helena care?
S: She knows Phoebe’s background could complicate the shareholder vote.
P: You said Phoebe was nobody.
S: She chose to be nobody.
The messages were dated three weeks before the gala.
I read the line twice.
He knew my presence might affect the shareholder vote.
He knew enough to conceal me.
Paisley opened another thread with a contact saved as H.V.
H.V.: The spouse cannot attend.
P: Spencer says she never attends anything.
H.V.: Make certain.
P: Why?
H.V.: Because Richard cannot transfer what the board can prove has been abandoned.
The message connected Helena to the strategy.
It still required authentication. Contact names could be altered. Accounts could be spoofed.
The committee would obtain provider records and device images where lawful.
Paisley then produced a voice note.
Helena’s voice said, “Once Conway closes, the reserve moves and the Sterling trust loses the votes.”
The recording ended.
“What reserve?” I asked.
Paisley looked at me.
“The $12.4 million.”
“Where did it originate?”
“Apex.”
“Where was it going?”
She swallowed.
“To purchase voting proxies from minority shareholders.”
Naomi leaned forward.
“For whom?”
May you like
Paisley’s eyes filled.
“For your father.”
