Chapter 6 - HIS MISTRESS MADE HER CHOICE
Grant denied the forgery immediately.
“I never signed anything as you.”
Seraphina held the scanned guarantee in front of him.
Her signature appeared perfectly across the final page.
SERAPHINA BELLAMY.
Grant stared at it.
“That wasn’t me.”
“Who else had access?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew I was Seraphina Bellamy?”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
This time Seraphina believed him.
Grant might have hidden money.
He might have tolerated his mother’s scheme.
He had certainly betrayed their marriage.
But his expression when he saw the Bellamy signature contained genuine shock.
“If you didn’t know who I was,” Seraphina said, “you couldn’t intentionally forge the chairwoman’s signature.”
“Exactly.”
Mavis whispered, “Could someone have known?”
Seraphina turned.
“What?”
Mavis looked frightened.
“About you.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Grant sat down.
“Who prepared the guarantee?”
Seraphina called Julian.
He already had the answer.
“The document came through Holloway Meridian’s finance department.”
“Signer?”
“Electronically submitted under CFO Martin Keene’s credentials.”
Grant stood.
“Martin?”
“He says Grant instructed him to arrange it.”
Grant cursed.
“I did not.”
Seraphina remembered Grant saying he needed to speak with his CFO before the audit.
“Why were you trying to reach Martin last night?”
“Because he handled the North Coast payments.”
“Did he know North Coast belonged to your mother?”
“Not originally.”
“But later?”
Grant hesitated.
“Yes.”
Mavis whispered, “Grant.”
He ignored her.
Seraphina asked, “Where is Martin now?”
Julian answered through the phone.
“That is another problem.”
“What?”
“He missed the emergency board call.”
Grant frowned.
“Martin never misses a board call.”
“We sent someone to his apartment.”
Seraphina felt dread.
“And?”
“He’s gone.”
Grant stared.
Julian continued.
“Building security says he left shortly after midnight carrying two suitcases.”
Grant reached for his phone.
“I’m calling him.”
Julian stopped him.
“Do not.”
“Why?”
“Our investigators believe someone logged into Bellamy’s partner portal using credentials connected to Holloway Meridian last night.”
“What did they access?”
“Historical investment files.”
Seraphina’s mind raced.
Someone inside Holloway Meridian knew more about Bellamy than Grant did.
Possibly for years.
Then another thought struck her.
“Delaney.”
Grant looked up.
“What about her?”
“She worked in corporate relations. Would she have access?”
“To some records.”
Seraphina called Julian.
“Find her.”
Twenty minutes later, Delaney arrived at the Palm Beach mansion accompanied by Bellamy security.
She looked exhausted.
No burgundy gown.
No diamonds.
Jeans.
White blouse.
Hair tied back.
She stopped when she saw Seraphina.
“I’m sorry.”
Seraphina did not respond.
Grant stepped forward.
“You came here?”
Delaney looked at him.
“I came because they asked.”
“You gave them files.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed me.”
Delaney laughed bitterly.
“Grant, you left your wife washing dishes while you took me to a gala funded by her company. You may not be the right person to lecture anyone about betrayal.”
Mavis looked offended.
Seraphina almost admired the accuracy.
“Sit,” Seraphina said.
Delaney obeyed.
“Did Martin Keene know who I was?”
Delaney’s expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
She hesitated.
“About six months ago, Martin asked me strange questions about you.”
“What questions?”
“Where you traveled. Whether you attended Grant’s business events. Whether you used another last name professionally.”
Grant stared at her.
“You never told me this.”
“You told me Martin was paranoid.”
Seraphina asked, “Why would he ask about another name?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he mention Bellamy?”
“Not directly.”
Delaney thought for a moment.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
“There was a Christmas dinner.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
“What happened?”
“Martin was drunk.”
Grant groaned.
“He said something about Grant being the luckiest idiot in Florida.”
Grant’s face hardened.
“What?”
Delaney continued.
“I thought he meant business. Then he said, ‘Some men marry a gold mine and spend years thinking they discovered the mountain themselves.’”
Nobody spoke.
Seraphina felt cold.
Martin knew.
Somehow, Martin had discovered her identity.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Grant demanded.
“I thought it was a joke.”
Julian, now present by video conference, asked, “Did Martin ever interact with Bellamy personnel directly?”
Grant answered.
“Constantly. Finance department.”
Julian nodded.
“He may have connected records.”
Seraphina looked toward Delaney.
“What else is on your flash drive?”
“Messages.”
“Between whom?”
“Mostly Grant and Martin.”
Grant snapped, “Those were company communications.”
Delaney ignored him.
“There’s one exchange from February.”
“About?”
“Bellamy.”
Grant froze.
Seraphina stared at him.
“You told me you did not know.”
“I didn’t.”
Delaney quickly clarified.
“Grant doesn’t mention you.”
Seraphina looked back at her.
“What does he say?”
Delaney opened her laptop.
She pulled up screenshots.
MARTIN:
Bellamy will cover the shortfall.
GRANT:
You sound certain.
MARTIN:
They always do.
GRANT:
Until they don’t.
MARTIN:
Trust me. We have more leverage than they realize.
Seraphina reread the final sentence.
“What leverage?”
Grant shook his head.
“I asked him that.”
Delaney scrolled.
GRANT:
What leverage?
MARTIN:
Insurance. Leave it alone.
Grant looked at Seraphina.
“I swear I had no idea what he meant.”
Seraphina believed him again.
Which made the situation more disturbing.
Martin had been operating independently.
Possibly using Bellamy capital.
Possibly forging documents.
Possibly building leverage against her.
Julian asked Delaney:
“Did Martin ever send you attachments?”
“Yes.”
“What type?”
“Investor lists. Reports. Sometimes press research.”
“Any personal background files?”
Delaney hesitated.
“One.”
Seraphina’s heartbeat quickened.
“Whose?”
Delaney looked at her.
“Yours.”
Grant stared.
“What?”
“I received it by mistake.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
“What did it contain?”
“Mostly public information. Schools. Old address. Your father.”
Seraphina leaned forward.
“Did it identify Alexander Bellamy?”
“Yes.”
Grant looked physically ill.
“You knew?”
Delaney shook her head rapidly.
“I didn’t connect it to Bellamy Holdings. Bellamy is not an uncommon surname. And you always used Holloway socially.”
Seraphina asked, “Where is that file?”
“I deleted it.”
Julian interrupted.
“Deleted files may be recoverable.”
Delaney nodded.
“My laptop is yours.”
Grant looked at her.
“You’re really giving them everything.”
Delaney met his eyes.
“Yes.”
“You said you loved me.”
“I did.”
“Then why?”
Tears entered her eyes.
“Because loving someone does not mean helping them destroy other people.”
Grant laughed bitterly.
“You discovered ethics at a convenient time.”
“You’re right.”
That silenced him.
Delaney continued.
“I should have discovered them before touching a married man.”
She turned to Seraphina.
“I cannot undo that.”
Seraphina said nothing.
“I am not asking forgiveness.”
Another surprise.
“I’m asking you to believe me about Martin.”
Seraphina studied her.
“Why?”
Delaney inhaled.
“Because three months ago, Martin offered me two million dollars.”
Grant stared at her.
“For what?”
“To convince you to leave Seraphina before the end of the year.”
Grant’s face changed.
“What?”
“He wanted your divorce finalized.”
Seraphina felt her pulse pounding.
“Why?”
“I asked.”
“And?”
Delaney’s voice became barely audible.
“He said once Seraphina Holloway was no longer your wife, Bellamy Holdings would become much easier to control.”
Grant sat down slowly.
For the first time, everyone in the room understood.
The affair might not have begun as Martin’s plan.
But someone had been encouraging it.
Someone had benefited from destroying Seraphina’s marriage.
And if Martin Keene had forged Bellamy documents, stolen capital and tried to separate her from Grant, then he had not simply been stealing money.
He had been positioning himself for something much larger.
That afternoon, Julian recovered another email.
It had been sent from Martin’s private account to an unidentified recipient.
Only one sentence appeared in the body:
SHE STILL DOESN’T KNOW WHO REALLY OWNS 17% OF BELLAMY.
Seraphina stared at the screen.
She owned Bellamy Holdings.
May you like
Or at least she had always believed she did.
Now someone was claiming that seventeen percent belonged to somebody else.
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