Dominic’s phone vibrated against the marble table while everyone in the Sterling Crown lobby watched.
The caller’s name glowed across the screen: Malcolm Voss.
Dominic had mentioned Voss dozens of times during the previous six months, always with the reverence of a man speaking about the person who would finally make him untouchable.
Voss was the chief executive of Northstar Capital, the rival investment group attempting to acquire Omnitech’s most valuable software division.
Dominic had told Vanessa that Voss would protect them.
He had told Omnitech’s board that Northstar was merely an interested buyer.
He had told Evelyn he was traveling to Washington to negotiate a merger that would secure their future.
Now Evelyn picked up the phone.
Dominic lunged toward it, but the head of hotel security moved between them.
“Don’t answer that,” Dominic said.
Evelyn touched the speaker icon.
Voss’s voice filled the lobby.
“Dominic, where are you? The transfer was supposed to clear before midnight.
If Whitmore’s people discover the bridge account, this entire deal collapses.”
Nobody spoke.
Voss continued, unaware that more than twenty people could hear him.
“And tell your girlfriend to stop charging jewelry to the consulting company.
We need that account to look legitimate until the patents move.”
Vanessa slowly turned toward Dominic.
The color drained from his face.
Evelyn leaned closer to the phone.
“Mr.
Voss, this is Evelyn Whitmore.”
Silence answered her.
Then the line disconnected.
Dominic stared at the phone as though it had exploded.
The compliance director, Priya Sethi, calmly noted the time of the call.
Two members of Whitmore Holdings’ legal team were already preserving the hotel’s internal recording and the encrypted conference log.
Dominic found his voice first.
“This is absurd,” he said.
“You staged that.”
Evelyn studied him across the table.
She had not changed clothes.
She still wore the beige cardigan, black leggings, and white sneakers Vanessa had mocked the night before.
The only visible difference was the thin black folder resting beside her hand.
“You recognized his voice,” Evelyn said.
“I recognize a lot of people.”
“You called him forty-seven times in the past month.”
“That proves nothing.”
Priya placed a printed call log on the table.
“It proves contact.
The transfers prove more.”
Dominic’s attention shifted to Vanessa.
“Tell them.
Tell them Voss hired you as a consultant.”
Vanessa took another step away from him.
“You said Whitmore Holdings approved it,” she whispered.
“They did.”
“No,” Evelyn said.
“You approved it using my credentials.”
The lawyer opened the red folder to the first section.
Inside were copies of three electronic authorization forms.
Each carried Evelyn’s name.
Each had supposedly been signed while she was recovering at home from minor surgery.
The signature looked convincing from a distance.
