Chapter 13 - The Groom's Confession.
The board meeting stopped being a meeting.
It became a room full of witnesses.
Julian remained standing with both hands on the table.
His voice was low.
"Dad picked me up that morning because he wanted to show me documents."
Claire listened through the phone without moving.
"He said Mom had used my authorization token to move money."
Julian looked at Eleanor.
"I thought he was trying to turn me against you."
Eleanor said nothing.
"We argued in the car."
"Then the brake pedal failed."
Julian closed his eyes.
"Dad tried to slow down with the hand brake."
"We hit the guardrail and went over the edge."
Claire's throat tightened.
Julian touched his left wrist unconsciously.
"I broke this."
"Dad was trapped behind the steering wheel."
"He told me to call 911."
Claire whispered the question even though she already knew.
"Why didn't you?"
Julian looked into the camera.
"I called Mom first."
The admission burned.
"Why?"
"Because I was eighteen and terrified."
"Because she had spent my entire life teaching me that she could fix anything."
"Because I was stupid."
Eleanor interrupted.
"You were injured and in shock."
Julian shouted for the first time.
"You told me not to call them!"
The boardroom fell silent.
Julian's breathing became uneven.
"She sent Victor and two security men."
"They arrived before the ambulance because there was no ambulance."
"Mom came eleven minutes later."
"Dad was still conscious."
Claire closed her eyes.
Julian's voice cracked.
"He looked at me."
"He asked why help was not coming."
No one in the room moved.
"Mom took my phone."
"She told Victor to get me out of there."
"I kept asking about Dad."
"She said he would not survive anyway."
Claire felt tears on her face before she realized she was crying.
Julian continued.
"Twenty-three minutes after the crash, someone finally called emergency services from a passing truck."
"Dad was dead when they arrived."
Claire could barely breathe.
"You let me believe he died instantly."
Julian looked at her.
"Yes."
There was no excuse in the word.
Only shame.
Serena stood beside Claire, staring at the screen.
Julian looked toward her next.
"I was going to tell you after the wedding."
Serena laughed without humor.
"You were going to marry me first?"
Julian's face collapsed further.
"I thought if I could get the key, I could destroy the recording before anyone heard it."
Claire understood.
"That is why you hid it behind the display."
He nodded.
"Victor brought it to me that night."
"I needed somewhere to put it until the reception ended."
Evelyn had simply walked into the wrong place at the wrong moment.
Claire's anger returned like heat.
"And when my daughter saw you, you pushed her."
Julian closed his eyes.
"Yes."
The board chair called for an immediate suspension of both Julian and Eleanor pending an independent investigation.
Eleanor stood slowly.
"Before you vote, there is one thing Claire should know."
Claire stared at the screen.
Eleanor smiled faintly.
May you like
"Thomas did not create B-17 to protect Claire from me."
"He created it because he was afraid of what Claire herself had seen the night before he died."
