Chapter 4 - The Man Olivia Had Buried
Fourteen months earlier, Martin Sloan had walked out of Olivia's conference room and told her she would regret choosing the company over him.
At the time, she thought he meant the lawsuit.
Martin had co-founded Hayes-Sloan Capital with Olivia when she was twenty-nine.
He had been forty-seven.
Experienced.
Connected.
Already wealthy.
Olivia had brought something Martin didn't have.
Instinct.
She saw opportunities before other people believed they existed.
For six years, they were nearly unbeatable.
Then Olivia discovered Martin had been using a side company controlled by his brother-in-law to inflate consulting expenses.
The amount was not enough to bankrupt Hayes-Sloan.
That almost made it worse.
Martin didn't need the money.
He believed the rules were negotiable because he had helped write them.
When Olivia confronted him, he laughed.
“Everybody does this.”
“I don't.”
“That is because you still think business rewards virtue.”
“No. I think fraud gets discovered.”
His smile disappeared.
Their partnership collapsed within weeks.
Attorneys negotiated Martin's exit.
The firm became Hayes Capital.
Martin kept his shares but lost management authority.
The settlement contained restrictions on his access to internal information.
What Olivia didn't know was how much information he still had.
Until now.
Rachel Kim read the messages twice.
They were sitting inside a windowless conference room downtown.
Jordan and Melissa waited in another room with breakfast sandwiches Olivia had ordered without asking.
Rachel placed the disposable phone inside a clear evidence bag.
“You can't touch this again.”
“I already touched it.”
“So did Jordan.”
“Does that ruin it?”
“No. But from now on, we document everything.”
Rachel was forty-one, compact, relentless and unimpressed by wealth.
It was why Olivia trusted her.
“Can we prove Evelyn sent these?”
“Not yet.”
“Can we prove Martin received them?”
“Not yet.”
Olivia stared.
“Helpful.”
“You hired me to be accurate.”
“I hired you because you enjoy ruining my mood.”
“That too.”
Rachel tapped one printed message.
“The board vote concerns me.”
Olivia leaned back.
“Martin still owns eleven percent.”
“Enough to influence others.”
“He can't remove me alone.”
“No. But he may not need to.”
The Prescott deal had been Olivia's largest proposed acquisition in three years.
Its failure damaged her credibility.
If Martin had somehow interfered with negotiations using information obtained from Evelyn, the consequences extended far beyond a privacy violation.
Corporate sabotage.
Possible fraud.
Contract interference.
Maybe worse.
Rachel asked, “Who knew Prescott was wavering?”
“No one.”
“Did you meet them somewhere private recently?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Two weeks ago. Napa.”
“Who knew?”
“My assistant.”
“Evelyn?”
Olivia thought.
“I stayed overnight. She arranged Grace's schedule.”
Rachel nodded.
“There it is.”
Olivia's stomach tightened.
Every personal detail she had casually shared with Evelyn now felt different.
Flights.
Hotels.
Dinner reservations.
Board meetings.
Doctors.
Grace's school events.
When the alarm was set.
When Olivia would be alone.
Rachel seemed to read her thoughts.
“Don't catastrophize.”
“I don't.”
“You absolutely do. You just do it quietly.”
Olivia stood.
“I need to speak to Evelyn.”
“No.”
“Rachel.”
“No.”
“She has access to my house.”
“Change the codes.”
“She has Grace's information.”
“Change authorized pickups.”
“She has keys.”
“Change the locks.”
“She has three years of my life in her head.”
Rachel's voice softened.
“That part you can't change today.”
Olivia looked through the glass wall toward the adjacent room.
Jordan sat with Melissa.
He was folding the paper wrapper from his sandwich into tiny squares.
“Someone contacted him.”
Rachel nodded.
“That means whoever lost the phone either saw him pick it up or figured it out later.”
“Could Evelyn have his number?”
“Did he ever call her?”
Olivia opened the door.
“Jordan?”
He looked up.
“Did Evelyn ever have your mother's phone number?”
“No.”
“Did Grace?”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Has Grace ever called your mom's phone?”
Jordan thought.
“Once.”
Olivia's heart sank.
“When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“Grace wanted to show me her science thing. Volcano.”
Melissa groaned.
“Jordan.”
“What? She called.”
“From whose phone?”
“Evelyn's.”
The room went silent.
Olivia felt the pieces connect.
Evelyn had Jordan's number in her call history.
Which meant she might know exactly who found the disposable phone.
Jordan watched Olivia.
“She knows.”
Rachel stepped into the doorway.
“Possibly.”
Jordan shook his head.
“No. She knows.”
Melissa stood.
“We're leaving San Francisco.”
Jordan stared at her.
“What?”
“We'll go to Oakland. Your aunt said—”
“She has four people in one room.”
“Better than this.”
“Mom.”
“I don't care.”
Olivia interrupted carefully.
“Melissa, I may be able to arrange somewhere safe for a few days.”
Melissa's expression hardened.
“We're not taking money.”
“I wasn't offering cash.”
“Same thing.”
“It isn't.”
“To you.”
That shut Olivia up.
Rachel intervened.
“There are victim advocacy organizations that can arrange emergency lodging without Ms. Hayes paying you directly.”
Melissa looked at her.
“Victim?”
“Potential witness,” Rachel corrected. “For now.”
Jordan stared at the floor.
Olivia realized he was frightened despite doing everything possible to hide it.
“You shouldn't have had to deal with this,” she told him.
He shrugged.
“Deal with worse stuff.”
Melissa looked sharply at him.
Olivia didn't ask.
Some questions belonged later.
Her phone buzzed.
Evelyn.
Is everything okay? Grace isn't at school.
Olivia showed Rachel.
“Answer normally,” Rachel said.
Olivia typed.
She's spending the day with Natalie. Family thing. I'll call later.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Then disappeared.
Then returned.
Of course. Let me know if you need anything.
Rachel pointed.
“She'll probably try to learn where you are.”
Olivia slipped the phone into her bag.
“I want her watched.”
“Legally.”
“Obviously.”
Rachel gave her a look.
“I'm reminding you because your face currently says otherwise.”
Olivia almost laughed.
Almost.
By noon, a private investigator Rachel trusted had been hired.
His name was Daniel Cho.
Former prosecutor's investigator.
Quiet.
Methodical.
Expensive.
Olivia liked him immediately.
His instructions were simple.
Observe Evelyn.
Document meetings.
Do not engage.
At 2:40 p.m., Evelyn left her apartment.
At 3:02, she arrived near St. Matthew's Academy despite being told she wasn't needed.
At 3:18, she walked two blocks east.
At 3:23, a black Mercedes stopped beside her.
Daniel took photographs.
At 3:24, Evelyn climbed inside.
Olivia received the first image minutes later.
She opened it inside Rachel's office.
The angle was poor.
Only part of the driver's face was visible.
Silver hair.
Dark coat.
Rachel leaned closer.
“Is that him?”
Olivia already knew.
“Yes.”
Martin Sloan.
The man she had spent fourteen months trying to erase from her life.
The second photograph arrived.
Martin was handing Evelyn a yellow envelope.
Jordan had been right about that too.
The third image made Olivia sit down.
Evelyn wasn't taking the envelope.
She was handing something to Martin.
A folded sheet of paper.
Daniel's next message came seconds later.
They separated. Sloan vehicle heading north. Parker walking toward California Street.
Then another.
One more thing. Parker looked directly at my vehicle before leaving.
Olivia read it aloud.
Rachel frowned.
“Does she know Daniel?”
“No.”
“Then she's nervous.”
Olivia's phone rang.
Evelyn.
Rachel lifted one finger.
“Answer.”
Olivia put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
Evelyn's voice was warm.
“Olivia, I'm sorry to bother you. I was nearby and wondered if Grace wanted me to pick up anything from school.”
“No.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.”
A beat.
“Are you sure?”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
Another pause.
Then Evelyn said something that made Rachel slowly raise her eyes.
“I just worry when routines change.”
Olivia stared at the phone.
“So do I.”
Evelyn said goodbye.
The call ended.
Rachel whispered, “She knows something's wrong.”
Olivia looked at the photograph of Martin.
“No.”
“What?”
“She knows I'm changing routines.”
Rachel's expression sharpened.
Olivia stood.
“And if Martin has been paying her for my routines, that means she'll tell him.”
Outside, the city moved normally.
Cable cars.
Taxis.
Delivery trucks.
Parents collecting children.
Nobody knew that a twelve-year-old boy had just cracked open a secret Olivia's security consultants, attorneys and executives had failed to see.
Then Daniel sent another photograph.
Martin's Mercedes entering the underground garage beneath Hayes Capital.
Olivia stared at it.
“He can't access the building.”
Rachel moved closer.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Daniel's next message arrived.
Vehicle registered as guest of board member Charles Wexler.
Olivia stopped breathing.
Charles Wexler.
Her own board chairman.
The vote was twelve days away.
Martin wasn't trying to get into Hayes Capital.
May you like
Someone inside had already invited him.
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