Chapter 5
I didn’t leave.
Not yet.
I got out of the car and handed Emma to the officer standing nearby.
“Please stay with her.”
Then I grabbed Sarah’s arm.
Not hard.
But firmly.
“Inside.”
She didn’t resist.
Detective Brennan saw our faces.
“What happened?”
I looked at Sarah.
“Tell him.”
She sat down slowly.
Brennan waited.
Finally she said, “The person who introduced me to the lender is Michael Mercer.”
“Relationship to Jason?”
“His older brother.”
Brennan’s expression stayed neutral.
“How do you know him?”
Sarah swallowed.
“Online.”
“Where online?”
“A gambling forum.”
“How long ago?”
“About a year.”
“And Jason?”
“I met him later.”
“How much later?”
“Five months.”
I stared at her.
“You met Michael before Jason?”
“Yes.”
“You told me Jason was someone you met at your gym.”
“I lied.”
My laugh had no humor in it.
“Obviously.”
Brennan leaned forward.
“Start from the beginning.”
Sarah looked exhausted.
“I was gambling online. Mostly sports. Michael messaged me after I posted about losing money.”
“What did he say?”
“That he knew private games with better odds.”
Brennan nodded.
“And?”
“At first I ignored him. Then we talked.”
“Did he know who you were?”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Did you use your real name?”
“Yes.”
“Your social accounts public?”
“Some.”
I already knew where this was going.
Our lives were easy to find.
My company website had my photograph.
Interviews.
Business profiles.
Articles.
Anyone searching Sarah’s name could connect her to me.
Brennan asked, “When did he mention lending you money?”
“After I lost thirty thousand.”
I stared at her.
One number after another.
Every hour brought a bigger one.
She continued.
“I told him I couldn’t cover it.”
“What did you lose thirty thousand on?”
“A private game.”
“Run by whom?”
She looked at Brennan.
“Michael.”
He stopped writing.
“So Mercer ran the game, allowed you to lose thirty thousand, then offered financing?”
“Yes.”
Brennan leaned back.
“That sounds less like gambling and more like a setup.”
Sarah began crying.
“I know that now.”
I looked at her.
“You never wondered why a stranger online wanted to help you?”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“That has become painfully clear.”
She flinched.
Brennan glanced at me.
“Mr. Carter.”
I stopped.
He looked back at Sarah.
“How does Jason enter this?”
“Michael invited me to a bar after one of the games.”
“You met him in person?”
“Yes.”
“Jason was there?”
“Yes.”
“Was he involved in the gambling?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think?”
“He seemed angry that Michael had invited me.”
“Why?”
Sarah looked at me.
“Because Jason knew I was married.”
I felt sick.
“He knew from the beginning.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He told Michael to leave me alone.”
That surprised me.
Brennan noticed.
“Why would he care?”
“Jason and Michael don’t get along.”
“Over what?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“Tell me what you know.”
Sarah took a breath.
“Their father died and left them a construction company. Michael ran it into trouble. Jason sold his share and walked away.”
“J. Mercer Holdings?”
“I think that was one of Michael’s companies.”
Brennan wrote quickly.
“So the transfer did go to a Mercer.”
“Michael. Not Jason.”
I looked at Sarah.
“You knew that.”
“Yes.”
“And when I asked this morning, you lied.”
She looked down.
“I didn’t want you thinking Jason was involved.”
“God forbid I think poorly of your boyfriend.”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.”
“What would you call him?”
“Daniel.”
“What would you call him?”
She started crying.
I turned away.
Brennan continued.
“Did Jason know you borrowed from Michael?”
“Not at first.”
“When did he find out?”
“Two months ago.”
“What happened?”
“He went crazy.”
“Meaning?”
“He told Michael to leave me alone. He offered to help me find a lawyer.”
“Did he offer money?”
“No.”
“Did he threaten Michael?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you hear him?”
“No.”
Brennan looked at me.
“We need to speak with both brothers.”
I nodded.
He stepped outside to make calls.
Sarah and I were alone.
For the first time that morning, neither of us spoke.
Then I said, “You met Jason through Michael.”
“Yes.”
“And you still started sleeping with him.”
Her eyes closed.
“Yes.”
“While Michael was lending you money.”
“Yes.”
“Did Jason know you were married when the affair started?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know Emma existed?”
“Yes.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Did you ever bring him here?”
Her eyes flew open.
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“Never.”
“Did he meet Emma?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Did Michael?”
“No.”
“Did either of them ever come inside this house?”
“No.”
I nodded.
At least that.
Then she whispered, “Daniel.”
I looked at her.
“I did love you.”
“Did?”
“I do.”
I almost walked away.
She stood.
“I know that sounds impossible.”
“It sounds irrelevant.”
“It isn’t.”
“You stole from us.”
“I know.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“You had an affair.”
“I know.”
“You put our daughter in danger.”
Her face collapsed.
“That is the thing I will never forgive myself for.”
“That makes two of us.”
She flinched.
I regretted it immediately.
Not because it wasn’t true.
Because cruelty would not protect Emma.
I rubbed my face.
“Did you ever plan to actually leave me?”
Sarah sat back down.
“For a few weeks.”
My stomach clenched.
“Why?”
“I thought you didn’t love me anymore.”
I stared at her.
“That was your conclusion?”
“You barely looked at me.”
“I worked sixty-hour weeks because we were opening two new offices.”
“You came home and answered emails.”
“So you found someone else.”
“I’m not defending it.”
“You keep explaining it.”
“Because you’re asking.”
She had a point.
I hated that she had a point.
“What changed?”
“What?”
“You said you planned to leave for a few weeks. What changed?”
She looked toward the stairs.
“Emma.”
My jaw tightened.
“I realized what divorce would do to her.”
“So you decided to stay and keep sleeping with Jason?”
“No.”
“When was the second time?”
She closed her eyes.
“Last night.”
I stopped breathing.
“You said twice.”
She nodded.
“The first time was three months ago.”
“And the second was last night.”
“Yes.”
I laughed once.
“So when his message said next time…”
“I know.”
“You walked out of this house, left our daughter without confirming anyone was here, and slept with him.”
“I thought Rachel was coming.”
“You never called Rachel!”
“I was going to!”
“When? After?”
She covered her face.
“I don’t know.”
I walked into the kitchen because I needed distance.
The officer with Emma was outside.
I could see my daughter through the window.
She was drawing with sidewalk chalk on our patio.
Completely unaware.
I held the counter.
Then Sarah spoke behind me.
“I wasn’t with Jason the whole time.”
I turned.
“What?”
“I left his apartment around eleven.”
“You got home at 12:43.”
She looked afraid.
“Where were you?”
“I met Michael.”
My blood went cold.
“You met the man threatening our family?”
“He told me I could fix it.”
“How?”
“He wanted something.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
My patience snapped.
“What did he want?”
“Information about your company.”
I stared at her.
“What information?”
“Contracts.”
“What contracts?”
“The city development project.”
My heart stopped.
My company was bidding on a major redevelopment contract.
Hundreds of millions of dollars over several years.
Only a small group of people knew final pricing numbers.
“You told Michael about the bid?”
“No!”
“Then how did he know?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he ask for?”
“He said if I gave him your final bid numbers, he would erase the debt.”
I stepped toward her.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Sarah.”
“I swear.”
“Did you access my files?”
“No.”
“Did you try?”
She looked away.
That was enough.
I stared at her.
“Oh my God.”
“I didn’t take anything.”
“What did you do?”
“I went into your office.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
I could barely hear myself.
“You went through my office?”
“I looked.”
“At what?”
“Your laptop.”
“Did you log in?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t know your password.”
Thank God.
Then I remembered something.
“My desk.”
She went still.
“What about it?”
“The project packet.”
Silence.
I kept it in a locked drawer.
Sarah knew where I kept the spare desk key.
“Did you open my desk?”
Her tears answered before she did.
“I looked at it.”
My chest tightened.
“What did you photograph?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I didn’t photograph anything.”
“Then why open it?”
“Michael told me what to look for.”
“And?”
“I found the packet.”
“What pages did you read?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I panicked. I put it back.”
I walked to my office.
The drawer was locked.
I opened it.
The packet was there.
I flipped through the pages.
Everything looked normal.
Then I reached the pricing appendix.
A folded corner.
I never folded corners on bid documents.
Never.
I pulled the sheet out.
There was a faint mark near the top edge.
A smudge.
Like something had rested against the paper.
I turned toward Sarah.
“Did you put your phone on this?”
“No.”
“Did Michael?”
“No!”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Detective Brennan walked back in.
“What happened?”
I held up the packet.
“I think someone may have copied confidential corporate information from my office.”
Sarah shook her head.
“I didn’t.”
Brennan took the page carefully.
“We’ll need someone from financial crimes.”
I looked at him.
“This just became bigger than gambling debt.”
“It may have always been bigger.”
My phone rang.
My chief operating officer, Mark.
I almost ignored it.
Then something told me not to.
I answered.
“Mark?”
“Daniel, where are you?”
“Home.”
“Are you coming in?”
“Not today.”
There was a pause.
“We have a problem.”
My stomach dropped.
“What problem?”
“The city called.”
I looked at Brennan.
“What happened?”
“They suspended our bid.”
“What?”
“They received an anonymous complaint.”
My mouth went dry.
“What kind of complaint?”
“Someone says our pricing process was manipulated.”
I looked at Sarah.
Her face turned white.
Mark continued.
“And Daniel…”
“What?”
“The complaint included internal documents.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“What documents?”
“The pricing appendix.”
I looked down at the sheet in my hand.
Mark’s next words hit harder.
“It has your handwritten notes on it.”
I stared at Sarah.
She shook her head frantically.
“I didn’t send anything.”
Mark continued.
“The board is asking questions. I need you here.”
I ended the call.
Brennan watched me.
“What?”
I held up the packet.
“Someone leaked this.”
Sarah whispered, “Daniel, I swear to you.”
I looked at her.
“If you didn’t send it, then who did?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“Who is it?” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
I took the phone.
The caller ID said Michael Mercer.
Brennan immediately motioned for silence.
Sarah answered on speaker.
“Hello?”
Michael laughed softly.
“Busy morning?”
Sarah started shaking.
“What did you do?”
“Me?”
“You sent Daniel’s documents.”
There was a pause.
Then Michael said, “You were supposed to deliver them yourself.”
“I didn’t give them to you.”
“No.”
His voice turned almost cheerful.
“But you did something better.”
“What?”
“You showed me where Daniel keeps them.”
Sarah’s face went blank.
I stared at her.
Michael continued.
“You should really be more careful about who you let into your house.”
My blood turned to ice.
I looked toward the security monitor.
Then at Sarah.
She whispered, “He was never here.”
Michael laughed.
“Wasn’t I?”
The call ended.
Brennan immediately asked, “When could he have entered?”
Sarah stared into space.
Then suddenly she gasped.
“The party.”
“What party?”
“Emma’s birthday.”
My stomach dropped.
Three weeks earlier.
Nearly sixty people had been in our house.
Family.
Friends.
Employees.
Neighbors.
Caterers.
And one man I didn’t know had briefly introduced himself as someone’s guest.
I remembered him now.
Tall.
Gray jacket.
He had shaken my hand.
May you like
He had smiled.
And he had congratulated me on having such a beautiful family.
