Chapter 5 - The Woman in White.
Emily ended the call without confirming whether she would still report on Monday.
She could not trust herself to speak calmly enough for another minute.
Gregory immediately began explaining.
He said executive review did not mean cancellation.
He said Malcolm had probably acted out of caution.
He said the matter could be resolved with one phone call in the morning.
Every sentence made Emily more certain that her father had known exactly what would happen.
"Did you ask Malcolm to do this?" she said.
Gregory looked tired rather than guilty.
"I told him I had concerns."
"That isn't an answer."
"I told him you were making a rushed decision."
"It was a six-week hiring process."
"You're twenty-three. Everything feels permanent when you're twenty-three."
Natalie stared at him.
"You interfered with her job on our wedding day?"
Gregory's expression sharpened.
"Do not turn this into something it isn't."
"What is it, then?"
"A father trying to prevent his daughter from burning bridges."
Emily laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"You are the bridge I'm trying not to burn," she said.
The words hit Gregory harder than she expected.
His face softened for a fraction of a second.
Then pride returned.
"You think Calder Biotech is going to protect you?"
"I don't need them to protect me."
"You have no idea how that company works."
"Apparently you do."
Gregory said nothing.
Natalie moved toward the door.
"I'm going back to the house."
Gregory looked stunned.
"Now?"
"I need to see that folder."
"Absolutely not."
Natalie turned toward him.
"You told me Emily dropped out."
"I told you what I believed."
"You saw her job offer."
"That doesn't mean she finished school."
"Then why was her name highlighted in a Calder Biotech file?"
Gregory's silence answered too much.
Natalie removed her wedding ring.
She did not hand it to him.
She simply held it between two fingers while looking at it as though it belonged to somebody else.
"I don't know what I married today," she said.
Gregory's face drained.
"Natalie, don't perform for an audience."
"There is no audience in this hallway."
Emily looked away.
She suddenly felt like an intruder in someone else's collapse.
Natalie slid the ring back onto her finger.
"I'm not making a decision tonight," she said.
"But I'm going to read that folder."
Gregory stepped in front of her.
Thomas finally spoke.
"Gregory, I recommend you let her go."
Gregory turned toward him.
"I did not ask for your recommendation."
"You asked me to attend because you wanted counsel available."
"Then counsel me privately."
Thomas looked at Emily.
"There is another issue you should know about."
Gregory's voice snapped across the hall.
"Thomas."
The attorney did not stop.
"The education trust holds more than cash."
Emily frowned.
"What else?"
"A small block of privately held shares."
Gregory's expression became dangerous in a way Emily had rarely seen.
Not violent.
Not loud.
Simply desperate.
"That is confidential," he said.
Thomas continued anyway.
"The shares were originally issued by a research company your mother invested in before her death."
Emily stared at him.
"What company?"
Thomas did not need to answer.
The truth had already arrived.
"Calder Biotech," Emily whispered.
Natalie covered her mouth.
Thomas nodded.
"The position is small, but the company has grown substantially since then."
Emily thought of the trust value Natalie had seen.
Two point four million dollars.
Suddenly the number made sense.
"How many shares?"
"The exact current equivalent would require the cap table, but your trust's stake is meaningful."
Gregory stepped toward Thomas.
"Enough."
Thomas closed his folder.
"She has a right to know."
Gregory looked at Emily.
For the first time, she saw the real conflict in his face.
It was not about tuition.
It was not even about the job.
"You wanted me to sign away shares in the company that just hired me," Emily said.
Gregory lowered his voice.
"Those shares have nothing to do with your employment."
"Then why did you call Malcolm?"
Gregory looked away.
Natalie moved past him and headed down the hall.
Emily followed.
Thomas came with them.
Gregory stayed where he was for several seconds before calling after them.
"If you go through my private files, Natalie, there will be consequences."
Natalie did not turn around.
"There already are," she said.
They took the service elevator to avoid the ballroom.
When the doors opened in the underground garage, Natalie stopped beside Emily.
"There's one more thing I didn't tell you," she said.
Emily was almost afraid to ask.
"What?"
Natalie's voice dropped.
"The Calder folder wasn't the only thing in that drawer."
May you like
Emily waited.
"There was a sealed letter with your mother's handwriting on it."
