Chapter 10 - Before She Met Me
The earliest photograph showed me leaving a hotel conference in Boston.
Six years before our affair.
Another showed Marianne and me at a charity dinner.
Another showed Genevieve, pregnant with Toby, entering my office.
Evelyn had studied my family long before I knew her name.
That fact destroyed the last version of our meeting I had wanted to keep.
I had believed we met because she happened to consult on the Palmer renovation.
The files showed Sebastian discussing targets.
Not people.
Collections.
Vance Heritage ranked first.
Why?
Large dispersed collection.
Frequent renovations.
Many works displayed outside museum conditions.
Private ownership structures.
Founder-led approvals.
Translation:
Me.
I was the control weakness.
There were notes about my public life.
Married.
Adult daughter estranged intermittently.
Known to make rapid acquisition decisions.
Enjoys mentoring younger professionals.
I stopped reading.
"Mentoring."
Genevieve sat across from me.
"You don't have to make yourself ridiculous."
"Apparently Sebastian did it for me."
"Dad."
I looked at her.
"I cheated on your mother with a woman who had researched my ego as part of a business plan. I think I'm allowed one bad joke."
Genevieve almost smiled.
Then she said, "Mom wasn't perfect either."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You keep talking like you destroyed a saint."
Marianne had been furious, controlling in her own ways, and capable of using silence like punishment.
She had also deserved better than my affair.
Again, reality refused to organize itself into easy categories.
I called Marianne later.
"I owe you an apology that isn't connected to Evelyn being worse than I knew."
Silence.
Then, "That took you long enough."
"Yes."
"You don't get points for being humiliated by your mistress."
"I know."
"Good."
We talked for twenty minutes.
Not reconciliation.
Not nostalgia.
Just two people finally separating my choices from Evelyn's deception.
The FBI traced the pre-meet photographs to a private investigator Sebastian hired.
No violence.
Research.
The plan originally called for Evelyn to become a trusted adviser.
The affair was not written down.
Maybe it emerged later.
Maybe she improvised.
Maybe she loved me.
I stopped trying to solve that question because it had no legal value and little practical value.
Then Priya called.
"Thomas, the auditors found something good."
I almost laughed.
"Good exists?"
"Yes. The suspicious acquisitions are limited. We have documentation for most of the collection."
Relief hit me.
Then she continued.
"But we found one piece Genevieve missed."
"Which?"
"A sculpture sold last year."
"Already sold?"
"Yes. Through Vance Heritage."
I closed my eyes.
"To whom?"
"The Chicago Children's Hospital Foundation auction."
A stolen object may have been used to raise money for sick children.
The moral mess became almost absurd.
----------------------------------------
The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.
May you like
If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://metro.treeiq.biz
New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.
