Chapter 5 - Stealth Mode
I didn't go home to my apartment.
I knew Grant or Vanessa would be waiting there.
Instead,
I drove to a small motel on the outskirts of town.
The neon sign flickered,
casting a red glow over the steering wheel.
I sat in the car for a long time,
listening to the engine cool.
My phone was vibrating in my purse.
Call after call.
Text after text.
I didn't check them.
I went into the motel room,
locked the door,
and sat on the edge of the bed.
I pulled my laptop from my bag.
I had work to do.
In the world of home care,
trust is the only currency that matters.
If the news of the scandal hit the papers,
my clients would be nervous.
My caregivers would be worried about their paychecks.
I had to insulate the business.
I spent the next four hours moving Cedar Ridge’s operational accounts to a private bank.
I set up a new payroll system that bypassed the Ellison-linked software Grant had "recommended."
I sent an encrypted email to my office manager,
Sarah.
Emergency protocol. Move all files to the cloud. Do not answer calls from any Allen or Ellison family members.
By 4:00 AM,
Cedar Ridge was a ghost.
The physical office was still there,
but the soul of the company was in my laptop.
I laid back on the scratchy motel bedspread.
My mind kept drifting back to Nathan.
The way he had looked when he spoke about Eunice Harper.
The way he had looked when he confessed everything.
Was the love real?
Or was it just a well-maintained lie?
It didn't matter.
Even if it was real,
it was poisoned.
Everything my family touched became an exchange.
A bribe.
A threat.
I had to find a way to neutralize Grant.
He was the one holding the strings.
And he was the one who had the most to lose.
I opened the folder on my screen titled Ellison Capital Audit.
My private investigator had found more than just the lien.
There were payments to an offshore account in the name of a company called V.A. Designs.
Vanessa’s initials.
Grant wasn't just using my parents.
He was hiding money from the IRS in his wife’s name.
And Vanessa,
in her desperate need to be the favorite,
had probably signed the documents without reading them.
Just like they wanted me to do.
I felt a cold sense of clarity.
I didn't want revenge.
May you like
I just wanted my life back.
And Grant Ellison was going to give it to me.
