Chapter 8
Gregory used the day badly.
At 10:14 that morning, Vale Holdings transferred several internal files to outside counsel.
At 11:02, Eleanor called three minority shareholders.
At 12:37, Gregory requested an emergency board meeting for the following week.
At 2:06, someone from Vale Holdings contacted the jeweler and asked whether purchase records could be kept confidential.
Rebecca’s investigator documented each step.
At 4:43, Gregory texted Clara.
I need more time.
She looked at the message.
Then made the decision that could not easily be reversed.
Clara filed for legal separation.
Not divorce yet.
Separation.
Rebecca simultaneously petitioned for temporary orders protecting Clara’s shareholder rights and preventing Vale Holdings from forcing a repurchase or altering the shareholder agreement without notice.
Clara also requested independent inspection of corporate records based on evidence that management had concealed material financial information from her as a shareholder.
The filings became public enough to reach lenders.
By the next morning, Vale Holdings’ refinancing negotiations paused.
Gregory called twelve times.
Clara answered the thirteenth.
“What did you do?”
His voice sounded panicked.
“What you were afraid I would do.”
“You just put hundreds of jobs at risk.”
“No. Your company’s financial condition put those jobs at risk. I asked to see the truth.”
“Clara, the lenders are freezing everything.”
“Then tell them the truth too.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
Gregory breathed heavily.
Finally he said:
“The ring was supposed to make this easier.”
Clara froze.
“What?”
He realized what he had said.
“Gregory.”
Silence.
“The ring was supposed to make what easier?”
He hung up.
Clara stared at the phone.
Rebecca had heard everything through the speaker.
Neither woman spoke for several seconds.
Then Rebecca said:
“That did not sound like a man accidentally caught with jewelry.”
No.
It sounded like a man discussing a tool.
A device.
Something meant to produce a particular result.
May you like
The ring had never simply been evidence of betrayal.
It had been part of a plan.
