Chapter 7 - THE DAUGHTER THEY USED AS COVER
Alexis sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the company registration.
Her name appeared three times.
Alexis Marie Berry.
Managing member.
Controlling owner.
Authorized representative.
She remembered signing papers in August.
Her father had told her they were part of a financial arrangement designed to protect her future.
Matthew had been sitting beside her.
He'd kissed her hand and said she would never have to worry about money again.
Alexis had been flattered.
She'd imagined a beautiful apartment.
A comfortable life.
Eventually, marriage.
Now she understood that her signature had been attached to something much larger than an apartment.
She opened the next page.
Northline Equipment had received payments connected to the Harbor Families Fund.
More than three million dollars.
Her name appeared on documents approving the company's bank account.
Alexis pressed a hand against her stomach.
“Oh, my God.”
For months, she'd believed she was the woman Matthew had chosen.
But the paperwork suggested something far uglier.
She was also the woman somebody had chosen to carry the financial risk.
The next morning, she confronted Donald in his office.
He looked irritated when she placed the documents on his desk.
“You went through my files?”
“They're my files.”
“Alexis—”
“Why do I own Northline Equipment?”
Donald removed his glasses.
“It's a holding arrangement.”
“For what?”
“Business interests.”
“What business interests?”
He stood.
“Lower your voice.”
Alexis stared at him.
“Did you use my name because you thought nobody would question a pregnant woman?”
Donald looked genuinely hurt.
“I would never deliberately endanger you.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I believed you didn't need to concern yourself with the details.”
Alexis laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You sound exactly like Matthew.”
Donald walked toward the window.
“I made a mistake by allowing your relationship with him to become part of our negotiations.”
“Allowing?”
He turned.
“I knew the marriage would end eventually.”
“You helped plan that?”
“Matthew told me Erin had already accepted their separation.”
Alexis shook her head.
“She hadn't.”
Donald said nothing.
She placed the documents back on his desk.
“Did you know the relief fund was paying Northline?”
He didn't answer.
“Daddy.”
“I knew Northline was receiving legitimate contracting payments.”
“From money intended for injured workers?”
His expression darkened.
“I did not authorize anyone to steal from those families.”
Alexis studied him.
For the first time, she wasn't certain whether he was lying, rationalizing, or telling only the part of the truth he could bear to admit.
“Then help me prove what happened.”
Donald shook his head.
“You have no idea what you're asking.”
“I know exactly what I'm asking.”
She picked up the folder.
“I'm asking you to choose between protecting yourself and protecting your daughter.”
Across Long Island, Stephen had called an emergency meeting of the fund trustees.
Eight of the eleven associates attended in person.
Donald refused.
Two others sent written responses.
Matthew arrived twenty minutes late, wearing a dark suit and an expression that suggested everyone else had inconvenienced him.
Stephen opened the meeting.
“Until the financial review is complete, I propose suspending any further payments to Northline Equipment.”
Matthew leaned forward.
“You can't interrupt existing contracts.”
“We can suspend questionable disbursements pending review,” Stephen answered.
Frank Delaney nodded.
“Especially when the supposed contractor hasn't provided invoices showing what it delivered.”
Matthew glanced around the room.
“Don't tell me you're all siding with Erin.”
Stephen looked at him.
“This is not a vote on your marriage.”
“She's trying to ruin me.”
“No,” Frank said. “We're trying to account for three million dollars.”
A silence followed.
Matthew looked at the trustees who had known him since childhood.
Men who had attended his father's funeral.
Men who had watched him inherit everything Joseph built.
For years, their approval had felt automatic.
Now their faces were cold.
Stephen distributed a written proposal requiring an independent review and restricting disbursements until the books were reconciled.
The trustees present approved the emergency restriction under the fund's rules.
Matthew stood.
“You've made a mistake.”
Stephen met his gaze.
“Then the records will prove it.”
Matthew left without shaking anyone's hand.
At Grace Ellis's office, Erin received a difficult surprise.
Alexis had asked to speak with her again.
This time, she arrived carrying two folders.
Margaret sat beside Erin while Grace examined the registration documents.
“Were you aware you were Northline's owner?” Grace asked.
Alexis shook her head.
“I thought I was signing papers for a financial trust.”
“Did anyone explain the company?”
“My father said it would protect my future.”
“Did you ever authorize a payment?”
“Not knowingly.”
Grace made a note.
“We'll need to examine what you signed and what authority was actually exercised.”
Alexis nodded.
“I'll cooperate.”
Erin watched her.
The younger woman looked exhausted.
There were dark circles under her eyes.
For the first time, Erin saw someone who had also discovered how little control she possessed over the future Matthew had promised.
But sympathy did not erase betrayal.
“You knew he was married,” Erin said.
Alexis swallowed.
“Yes.”
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And you still came to Christmas dinner wearing that red dress.”
Alexis's eyes filled.
“My father told me that night would make everything official.”
Erin looked away.
Official.
As though eight years of marriage were paperwork somebody could quietly replace.
“I'm not going to comfort you about what you did to me,” Erin said.
“I understand.”
“But if your name is being used to take money from families like Margaret's, we need the truth.”
Alexis nodded.
“That's why I'm here.”
She opened the second folder.
Inside were copies of Northline's formation documents.
One page was marked Initial Organization Instructions.
Grace reviewed the dates.
“July,” she murmured.
Erin looked up.
The same month Matthew removed her financial access.
The same month he borrowed her old payroll authorization.
The same month he'd begun planning to move her away.
Grace continued reading.
Then she stopped.
“This is interesting.”
She turned the page toward Erin.
The original proposal to establish Northline hadn't come from Donald Berry's office.
It came from Harrison Operations.
The instructions specified that ownership would be placed in Alexis Berry's name.
Donald was listed as an adviser.
But the requesting executive had been Matthew.
Erin stared at the page.
Alexis leaned forward.
“What does that mean?”
Grace answered carefully.
“It means Matthew's office initiated the arrangement that put the company in your name.”
Alexis looked sick.
“Before I knew about the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Before anyone knew?”
Erin checked the date again.
July 9.
Almost two months before Alexis would have known she was pregnant.
Matthew had been preparing both women's futures without telling either one the truth.
Then Erin saw one final line.
The request included a provision that Alexis would assume responsibility for the company's financial reporting.
She pointed to it.
“Grace, would this make Alexis responsible if the company was accused of wrongdoing?”
“It could be used to support that argument. Whether it establishes legal responsibility is another question.”
Alexis covered her mouth.
Erin remembered Matthew telling her she would never leave.
Remembered him accusing her of stealing.
Remembered the blue bracelet.
She looked at the woman sitting across from her.
May you like
And understood what Matthew had really been doing.
He had put Erin's signature on the missing money—and Alexis's name on the company that received it.
