Chapter 10 - The Man Laura Wasn't Sleeping WithDaniel called his uncle.
Peter answered on the second ring.
"Daniel."
No surprise.
No warmth either.
"Did you meet Laura at a house in Westfield?"
Silence.
Then Peter said, "I wondered when you'd call."
Daniel's stomach tightened.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Ask your wife."
"I'm asking you."
Peter sighed.
"She wanted financial advice."
"You haven't spoken to me in two years, but my wife comes to you for financial advice?"
"That should tell you something."
"It tells me both of you are comfortable going behind my back."
Peter laughed softly.
"You sound like your father."
"Don't."
"Thomas believed secrecy was his personal property."
Daniel stood.
"What did Laura want?"
"To understand the Westbridge transaction."
"Why you?"
"Because I still own shares."
A small minority stake.
Peter had inherited part of Thomas's original holdings, then fought Daniel over control.
"What did you tell her?"
"The truth."
"Which version?"
"The one where Westbridge makes your position stronger unless certain shareholders act before closing."
Daniel became still.
"Act how?"
Peter didn't answer immediately.
"Daniel, you really should ask Laura."
"If you hang up without answering, I'll assume you were helping her."
"Helping her do what?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out."
Peter exhaled.
"She asked whether your shares could be challenged during divorce."
Daniel felt a chill.
"What?"
"I told her that's a question for lawyers."
"And?"
"She asked if marital litigation could delay Westbridge."
Daniel's mind accelerated.
"Could it?"
"Potentially, if ownership became disputed."
"Did she want it delayed?"
"At first."
"At first?"
"Then she asked whether I would support the deal if your voting authority was temporarily limited."
Daniel stared at the wall.
"Why would my voting authority be limited?"
Peter hesitated.
"If you were considered unable to fulfill your role."
Daniel's voice dropped.
"What exactly was Laura suggesting?"
"I didn't like the direction of the conversation."
"Tell me."
"She asked what would happen if you had some kind of... breakdown."
Daniel didn't move.
The word sat between them.
"Breakdown."
"Her word, not mine."
"What did you say?"
"I told her we hadn't spoken in years, but I didn't believe you were unstable."
Daniel almost laughed at the irony.
His estranged uncle had apparently defended him more than his wife.
"Why didn't you call me?"
"Because I thought she was preparing for an ugly divorce, not a coup."
"Coup?"
"That's what you're making it sound like."
"Laura has been sleeping with Mark."
Peter went silent.
"Mark Cole?"
"Yes."
"Jesus."
"And she took more than half a million dollars from Sophie's custodial account."
"What?"
The genuine shock in Peter's voice mattered.
Daniel continued.
"She bought the house you visited."
Peter cursed quietly.
"I didn't know that."
"She told you what?"
"That it was inherited money."
Daniel closed his eyes.
More lies.
"Why did she need you?"
Peter answered slowly.
"If this is what I think, she didn't need me for the house."
"For what?"
"Your board."
Daniel froze.
Bennett Development had five voting board members.
Daniel.
Rachel.
Peter.
Two outside directors.
Mark wasn't formally on the board but advised Daniel.
"If Westbridge closed and you were in the middle of a hostile divorce with questions about your mental state..."
Peter stopped.
Daniel finished.
"Someone could push for temporary leadership."
"Maybe."
"Who?"
"Laura asked whether I'd serve."
Daniel stared.
"Would you?"
"No."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I hate what your father did to me. I don't hate you enough to steal your company."
For the first time in two years, Daniel believed his uncle.
"What did Laura say when you refused?"
"That she had other options."
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"What options?"
"I don't know."
"Did she mention Mark?"
"No."
"Anybody else?"
Peter hesitated.
"She mentioned recordings."
Daniel felt cold.
"What recordings?"
"Of you."
Daniel said nothing.
"She said if the marriage became contentious, she could prove you had a temper."
Daniel almost laughed.
Laura had spent years teasing him because he almost never raised his voice.
"What proof?"
"She didn't show me."
Daniel remembered that afternoon.
The bedroom.
Mark standing inches away.
Laura repeatedly pushing him.
Daniel, please.
Mark trying to speak.
How easy would it have been for Daniel to hit him?
How understandable?
How disastrous?
He looked at his phone.
Had Laura expected a different reaction when Mark fell from the closet?
Had she panicked because she was caught?
Or had some part of her already been prepared to use whatever Daniel did next?
"Peter."
"Yeah?"
"Don't speak to Laura again without telling me."
"You don't get to give me orders."
"Fair."
Daniel breathed out.
"Then I'm asking."
Peter was quiet.
"All right."
Daniel ended the call.
A text arrived immediately.
LAURA: Where are you?
He stared at it.
Then another.
LAURA: Sophie is asking for you.
Daniel typed carefully.
DANIEL: Leaving the office now.
Laura replied:
LAURA: We need to talk when you get home.
Daniel looked at the screen.
May you like
For the first time all day, he didn't wonder what Laura was going to confess.
He wondered what she was going to try to make him do.
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