Chapter 7 - THE BANK WANTED MY MONEY, BUT I WANTED THE TRUTH
"How much?" I asked.
Helen Ward hesitated.
"We need a credible plan covering the six-hundred-thousand-dollar advance, along with verified cash-flow projections for Maple Row."
I sat across from her at the bank the following morning.
Margaret was beside me.
The deadline was less than two hours away.
"You're asking me to cover money my husband can't account for," I said.
"I'm asking whether Ellis Holdings can support a temporary arrangement while the company is investigated."
I looked at the balance sheet.
For eight years, I'd allowed Daniel to call himself the man who provided everything.
Now the company was looking to the woman he'd called useless.
Again.
"I have available investments," I said. "But I won't put my grandmother's trust assets into an unrestricted company account."
Helen nodded.
"That's reasonable."
Margaret opened her notes.
"We're proposing a controlled escrow, limited to verified wages, essential supplier obligations, and funds required for approved construction."
"What about Northline?" Helen asked.
"We're seeking a formal accounting of its advance and a standstill while the transaction is reviewed. We won't authorize a personal guarantee for a disputed business obligation."
Helen considered that.
"Would you agree to an independent review of the company's full accounts?"
"Absolutely."
"And replacement financial controls?"
"Immediately."
Helen made several notes.
"If the lender's credit committee accepts the arrangement, we may be able to extend the deadline."
"How long?"
"Seven days initially."
Seven days.
It wasn't much.
But it was more than Daniel had planned to give me.
While Margaret worked with Helen, I called Owen.
"Don't allow the disputed materials to be installed."
"I've already stopped that work."
"And the twelve nearly finished houses?"
"The preliminary review didn't identify those substitutions there. We're arranging a separate final inspection."
"Good."
He hesitated.
"Emily, are we going to lose everything?"
I looked at the bank's polished wooden table.
"I can't promise you that we won't."
He remained quiet.
"But I'm not walking away, Owen."
When I ended the call, I saw Maisie's drawing peeking out of my handbag.
A yellow house.
Three smiling people.
And a dog named Pickles.
I thought about how easily Daniel had discussed getting rid of me.
For him, houses had become numbers on a spreadsheet.
For Maisie, a house meant somewhere her grandmother could sit on a porch while she played with a dog.
I made my decision.
"We'll establish the escrow," I told Helen. "Only for verified expenses, with independent oversight."
Helen nodded.
"And we'll need Daniel's cooperation to reconstruct the records."
My stomach tightened.
"That may be difficult."
As though summoned by his name, Daniel appeared through the glass doors.
Vanessa walked beside him.
He had clearly expected to attend a meeting without me.
When he saw Margaret, the escrow proposal, and the bank representative, his face darkened.
"What is this?"
Helen stood.
"A discussion about preserving the company's financing."
Daniel looked at me.
"You went behind my back?"
I almost smiled.
The irony was breathtaking.
"I came to the bank," I replied. "You were welcome to join the discussion."
Vanessa examined the documents.
"An independent escrow? That's insulting."
"To whom?"
"To Daniel. He's managed this company for years."
"And look where we are."
Daniel slammed his palm onto the table.
"Enough!"
Several bank employees glanced over.
He lowered his voice.
"You want to play executive? Fine. But when this whole thing collapses, don't expect me to protect you."
I looked straight at him.
"From whom, Daniel?"
He said nothing.
"From the lender? The employees? Or the people you've been lying to?"
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
"Let's go."
Before they reached the doors, I asked one final question.
"Daniel, what exactly is Mariner Site Services?"
He stopped.
His shoulders stiffened.
Then he turned around.
"A vendor."
"Who owns it?"
"I don't know every vendor's ownership structure."
"Shouldn't you know where four hundred and thirty thousand dollars went?"
Vanessa intervened.
"You don't understand how project management works."
I looked at her.
"Then perhaps you can explain it to the auditors."
For the first time, she looked genuinely frightened.
After they left, Helen excused herself to take the proposal to the credit committee.
Margaret stayed to review the records we'd brought.
I walked into the bank's small waiting area.
Rebecca was sitting near the window.
I stopped.
She rose immediately.
"Emily."
"What are you doing here?"
She held a folder against her chest.
"I came to give the bank some records about the Northline meetings. They asked accounting to provide supporting materials."
I stared at her.
"Did Daniel send you?"
"No."
Her eyes were red.
"I heard what he said to you yesterday. About not being able to give him a family."
I turned away.
"I don't need your pity."
"I know."
She swallowed.
"And I know you found out about us."
I looked back.
"Does he know you know?"
"No. But Vanessa suspects."
Rebecca lowered her eyes.
"I'm not going to ask you to forgive me."
"Good."
She nodded, accepting the answer.
Then she said something unexpected.
"The hotel receipt you found was probably from the Meridian."
My body went cold.
I hadn't told her I'd found a receipt.
"How do you know?"
"Because that's where we met Northline's representatives. Daniel used the same suite for private meetings."
I stared at her.
"Meetings about the sale?"
Rebecca nodded.
"The first one was months ago."
"Before Daniel told me the company was struggling?"
"Yes."
I looked down at the folder she held.
"And before your affair?"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"Emily, Daniel reserved that suite two weeks before we ever slept together."
I waited.
She looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
May you like
Then she whispered:
"I think he was planning to get rid of you before he decided to have an affair with me."
