Chapter 16 An Unreasonable Calm
Sloane
Most people, when they hear things like financial irregularities, panic first. He made it sound like every strange payment and every weird late-night movement was just part of the job. He talked with the kind of calm patience a teacher uses with a student. There was no defensiveness in him.
Why isn’t he asking how serious this could be?, I thought.
I tried to look like I was soaking it all in, but I wasn't really listening to his words anymore. I was watching him. I watched the way his hands stayed perfectly still on the leather arm of his chair. I watched the way he never broke eye contact.
In all the years I had known him, Richard was always a man of a thousand questions. If I came to him with a problem, he wanted to know the who, what, where, and why. But today, he was different. Instead, he just assumed that his reassurance was the goal. He acted as if he had successfully checked a box on a to-do list:
Reassure Sloane. Done.
I felt a hollow sensation in my chest. I began to gather the photocopies back into the envelope, moving slowly and deliberately. I wasn't in a rush to leave, even though my skin was crawling. I wanted to give him one more chance to act like the uncle I knew.
I had left too many things unsaid. Where I’d found them. How many there were. Whether anyone else or the board had noticed the discrepancies. Any one of those questions would have been reasonable. Necessary, even.
"I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t overlooking anything," I said, looking down at the papers. "Especially since I’m going to be stepping into a much bigger role with the company soon. I want to make sure the foundation is solid."
There was a beat of silence. The clock on his wall ticked once, twice.
Richard didn't ask for a single follow-up. He didn't show any curiosity about my future or my plans. Instead, he just leaned back and repeated himself, using slightly different words this time.
"And that is exactly why I’m telling you this, Sloane. It’s all part of the learning curve. You’ll see that once you’re in the thick of it, these things don’t seem nearly as strange as they do on paper."
Then came the real tell.
"Everything regarding the service elevator coordination and the restricted guest movement during those weeks was handled by my personal team," Richard said casually. "It was all to keep the VIPs separated from the noise."
I felt a literal chill go down my spine. I hadn't used the phrase "service elevator coordination." I hadn't pressed him on the logistics of "restricted guest movement." I had only asked about general access logs. He was answering a much more detailed version of the question than I had actually asked.
It was like he was reciting a script he had prepared long ago, just in case someone ever came looking.
Richard stood up, signaling that our meeting was over. The warmth was still there in his expression, but it felt like a mask. A very expensive, very well-made mask.
"I’ll have my assistant forward the documentation to you," he said, walking around the desk. He made it sound like a courtesy, a nice little favor he was doing for his niece, rather than a legal necessity.
He stopped at the door and looked at me, his eyes soft with a warning that was disguised as care. "You’ve been through a lot lately, Sloane. Losing your grandmother, the pressure of the will... there’s no need to burden yourself with old operational noise. Let the past stay where it is."
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Family matters should stay within the family. Remember that." His smile was polished and final. It was the smile of a man who had successfully managed a situation.
I walked out of the office with my head held high. I didn't run. I didn't look back. But as the heavy door clicked shut behind me, the adrenaline finally hit. My lungs felt tight, and my heart began to race.
He didn’t ask how much was missing. He didn't ask how significant it was. He didn’t even look surprised by my visit. Because he must have already known.
I was halfway down the executive hallway toward the elevators when I nearly collided with someone.
"Sloane! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!"
I looked up and it was my Aunt Claire. She was dressed in a bright, stylish suit, her face animated and glowing. She looked like a different species compared to the cold, calculated air of Richard’s office. She looked genuinely happy to see me, reaching out to grab my arms.
Claire’s eyes flicked briefly toward the office doors behind me. “I didn’t know you were stopping by today. Everything okay?”
The question was casual, but I felt the weight of it. I kept my voice light. “Yeah. I just came to talk to Uncle Richard something personal.”
Her expression shifted instantly, curiosity blooming. “Personal?”
I hesitated just long enough to make it believable. “Cade and I… I’ve agreed to the marriage.”
For a split second, Claire simply stared at me. Then her face broke into a wide, unguarded smile.
“That’s wonderful, Sloane,” she said, stepping forward and pulling me into a hug. “Your grandmother would be so relieved.”
The word relieved landed harder than she intended.
“I think so,” I said.
She pulled back, still smiling, already thinking ahead. “This is exactly what the family needs right.” She tilted her head, looking up a bit. “You should let me host the engagement dinner to celebrate properly. Nothing too much, just close friends, family. Here at the hotel, of course.”
At the hotel.
The idea slid into place too easily, like a piece that had been waiting for the suggestion.
“That sounds… nice,” I said.
“I’ll talk to Richard. You should let us handle it,” Claire continued, already halfway gone. “We’ll make it tasteful. He’ll love the idea.”
I wondered briefly if that was true or if he would simply approve it because it gave him control.
Claire squeezed my hand once more before glancing at her phone. “I have to go now. But take care, Sloane”
She disappeared down the hall, her heels clicking briskly against the marble.
I stood there for a moment longer than necessary, the lobby noise slowly seeping back in. Conversations. Laughter. The quiet machinery of a building that knew how to swallow secrets.
Another party. Another stage. Another moment where I would have to stand next to Cade and act like my family wasn't built on a foundation of lies, I thought as I pressed the elevator button.
I stepped out of the hotel and into the bright, harsh daylight. The Hartford building loomed behind me, its glass walls reflecting the sky like a giant, impenetrable mirror. It looked beautiful and perfect, but now I knew things were hidden behind that glass.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. My fingers were still trembling as I found Cade’s name. I needed to tell him that he was right about the shadows, but wrong about the man. Richard wasn't just hiding something. He was the one who had built the wall to hide it.
I stood on the sidewalk, the noise of the city buzzing around me, but all I could hear was the sound of Richard’s voice telling me to let the past stay where it was.
I hit 'Call' and waited for the line to ring. My grandmother had tried to stop him, and she was gone. Lily had noticed the patterns, and she was gone. Now, it was my turn to look at the patterns. And for the first time in my life, I was truly afraid of what they were going to show me.
"Cade?" I said, my voice barely a whisper when he finally picked up. "We need to talk," I said. "He knew too."