Chapter 7 - The Agreement.
Thomas insisted they not open the flash drive on Gregory's computer.
He said the safest choice was to preserve the files exactly as they were until Natalie could confirm she had a legal right to access them.
Natalie almost laughed.
"I married him six hours ago, and now I need legal advice to learn why my name is on a secret drive in his locked drawer."
Thomas did not smile.
"Yes," he said.
That answer frightened her more than reassurance would have.
Emily placed her mother's letter inside the trust folder.
"Can he take this back?"
"The letter is addressed to you," Thomas said.
"Keep it."
The sound of tires on the circular driveway interrupted them.
Natalie moved to the window.
Headlights swept across the front lawn.
"He's here."
Emily checked the time.
It had taken Gregory less than thirty minutes to leave his own reception.
Thomas closed the Calder folder.
"Nobody argue in the office."
Emily gave him a tired look.
"You think that is what he's coming here for?"
"I think Gregory is most dangerous to himself when he feels cornered."
Thomas's wording made Emily pause.
"Dangerous how?"
"With decisions," he clarified.
"He reacts before he thinks."
The front door opened downstairs.
Gregory called Natalie's name.
She did not answer.
His footsteps crossed the foyer.
Emily stood beside the desk.
Natalie kept the flash drive in her palm.
Gregory appeared in the doorway with his bow tie undone and his tuxedo jacket open.
The anger Emily expected was gone.
He looked exhausted.
"Put everything back," he said.
Natalie held up the drive.
"What's this?"
Gregory's eyes settled on it.
"A draft prenuptial file."
"We signed our agreement two months ago."
"An older draft."
Thomas held out his hand.
"May I see the label?"
Natalie gave him the drive.
He turned it over.
"This label looks recent."
Gregory's gaze hardened.
"Thomas, whose attorney are you tonight?"
"At this moment, I am trying to prevent three people from making decisions they regret."
Gregory walked toward Emily.
"Give me the Calder folder."
Emily held it against her chest.
"No."
"Those are private communications."
"About me."
"About my business."
"Your business involved stopping my job and taking my shares."
Gregory's face tightened.
"Nobody is taking your shares."
Emily pulled out the printed email.
"Then what does consolidate mean?"
Gregory read the line she pointed to.
For a second, genuine surprise crossed his face.
"Malcolm printed this?"
"You wrote it."
"That is not what I meant."
"Then tell me what you meant."
Gregory looked at Thomas and then at Natalie.
"Calder is preparing a private restructuring."
Emily waited.
"Certain early shareholder interests may be exchanged for units in a new holding entity," he continued.
"Your trust is too small to have meaningful influence on the terms."
"So you were going to combine my shares with yours."
"I was going to protect their value."
"Without telling me."
"You do not know how to evaluate a transaction like this."
Emily almost answered, but Natalie spoke first.
"Is that why you needed her release?"
Gregory looked at his bride.
"Partly."
"And what does any of this have to do with me?"
He looked at the flash drive.
"Nothing."
Natalie stepped closer.
"Then say what's on it."
"I already told you."
"An old prenup draft?"
"Yes."
Thomas frowned.
"Gregory, the final prenup was stored through my office."
"I keep copies."
"Not on unlabeled personal drives."
"It is labeled."
"With the word agreement, not prenup."
Gregory's patience finally broke.
"This entire evening has become ridiculous because Emily decided to turn a family correction into a public spectacle."
Emily stared at him.
"You walked onto a stage."
"Because you refused to listen privately."
"You never told me about the trust."
"I managed that money for nine years."
"That doesn't make it yours."
Gregory took a breath and lowered his voice.
"Emily, sign the release tomorrow, let me handle the restructuring, and I will call Malcolm in the morning."
There it was.
The bargain.
Emily felt something inside her become very calm.
"You're trading my job for my signature."
"I am solving two problems at once."
Natalie stared at him as if seeing him clearly for the first time.
"That's what tonight was about," she said.
Gregory turned toward her.
"Do not exaggerate."
"You thought humiliating her would make her panic."
He did not answer.
"You thought she'd sign whatever you put in front of her if she believed she had no money and no job."
Gregory looked away.
That silence was confirmation.
Emily's chest hurt, but her voice stayed steady.
"I'm reporting to Calder Monday whether Malcolm likes it or not."
"You may not have a position Monday."
"Then I'll let them tell me that."
Gregory shook his head.
"You always mistake stubbornness for strength."
Emily took her mother's letter from the folder.
"Mom called it choosing my own life."
Gregory froze.
His eyes moved to the paper.
"Where did you get that?"
"Your drawer."
For the first time that night, his composure truly broke.
"That letter was not supposed to leave this house."
Emily stared at him.
"It has my name on it."
"You don't understand why Sarah wrote it."
"Then tell me."
Gregory's face changed again.
May you like
The anger faded into something older and heavier.
"Because your mother was planning to leave me," he said.
