Chapter 3 - The Silver Watch
"Snooping implies I was looking for something," I said, smoothly slipping the train ticket into my purse. "I simply asked my daughter why she looked like she was preparing for a funeral instead of a celebration."
Daniel took a slow, deliberate step toward us. He unbuttoned his suit jacket, the very picture of a predator closing in on trapped prey. "Emily has an overactive imagination. Pregnancy hormones, you know? They make women irrational. Paranoic, even."
"I don't feel paranoid," Emily said, her voice shaking but her chin lifting just a fraction. It was the first time in years I had seen a spark of the fierce, independent girl I had raised. "I feel awake."
Daniel scoffed, walking over to the wine fridge. He pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir, expertly twisting the corkscrew. "You feel awake? That’s adorable. You wouldn't know the first thing about the real world, Em. Neither of you would. You sit in your gardens and your book clubs while men like me build the empires that keep your credit cards swiping."
He popped the cork with a violent yank.
"Give it back, Margaret," he said, not looking at me.
"Give what back?" I asked.
"Whatever she took from the boy's backpack," Daniel growled, turning to face me with the heavy wine bottle gripped like a club in his hand. "Leo is a little thief. Just like his dead father. Now hand it over, before I go upstairs and wake the brat up to ask him myself."
My blood boiled at the mention of my five-year-old grandson, sleeping in the nursery two floors above us. "You will not go near Leo," I said evenly.
"Then give me the watch."
I frowned, glancing at Emily. She reached into her pocket again and pulled out an object, pressing it into my palm. It was heavy, metallic, and cold. I looked down.
It was a vintage, silver Patek Philippe pocket watch. The engraved initials T.G. caught the harsh kitchen lighting. It was Thomas’s watch. My late husband’s heirloom, which had mysteriously vanished from my study three years ago.
"You stole this," I stated, staring at Daniel.
"I borrowed it," Daniel corrected, his lip curling. "I needed collateral. Something untraceable. You have no idea what it takes to survive in my world, Margaret. The board demands profit. The syndicate demands repayment. I found a way to satisfy both, but I needed a ledger that couldn't be hacked."
He tapped his own temple. "It's all in the engraving. Micro-etched routing numbers inside the back casing. Offshore accounts holding fifty million dollars of Calder & Rowe's pension funds. I'm moving it tonight. As soon as I get the COO title, the auth-codes clear, the money vanishes, and I am on a train to Montreal a very, very rich man."
I stared at him, the pieces rapidly locking into place. He wasn't just a corporate ladder-climber. He was an embezzler, about to bankrupt thousands of hardworking employees to cover his own illicit debts.
"You're a fool, Daniel," I said quietly. "If the money vanishes, you'll be the prime suspect. You'll be an international fugitive."
"Not if my beloved wife is the one who authorized the transfer," Daniel smiled, a terrible, chilling sight. "Emily's signature is on all the shell company documents. I made sure of it. While she was distracted with morning sickness, I was busy setting up her new life as a white-collar criminal."
Emily gasped, clutching her stomach.
Before Daniel could take another step, the kitchen door pushed open again. It was Richard Hayes, the board chairman. He looked between the three of us, taking in the tension, the wine bottle in Daniel's hand, and the pale terror on Emily's face.
"Daniel," Richard said, his voice completely devoid of the warmth he had displayed at the table. "Stop playing with your family. We have a problem."
May you like
Daniel immediately lowered the bottle, his demeanor shifting back to subordinate compliance. "What is it, Richard? The vote isn't until ten-thirty."
Richard looked at me, a strange, calculating gleam in his eye. "The vote is happening right now. And Margaret is going to help us ensure you don't get a single share."
