Chapter 6: The Offer She Shouldn't Have Made
Isabella's lawyer arrived at the hospital at eleven forty-five.
His name was Gerald Finch.
Silver-haired, unhurried, the kind of man who had spent thirty years making problems disappear before they reached a courtroom.
He asked to speak with Marcus privately.
Marcus said no.
He asked again.
Marcus told him that anything said to him could be said in front of Daniel Reeves, who was a licensed attorney, and that he had thirty minutes.
Finch sat down.
"My client deeply regrets what happened this evening," he began.
"Your client kicked a seven-month pregnant woman," Marcus said.
"Save the regret."
Finch adjusted his cufflinks.
"There are competing accounts of the events.
A witness has come forward —"
"A witness who was positioned in a blind spot before my wife arrived on that floor," Daniel said.
"We have photographic evidence placing him in the alcove at 9:38.
Your client's account has him observing events at 9:41.
He couldn't have seen what he claims from where he was standing."
Finch's expression didn't change.
But his hands went still.
"That photograph will need to be authenticated," he said.
"It will be," Daniel said.
"By the foundation's own photographer.
Hired independently of any party connected to your client."
A pause.
"What is it you want, Mr.
Finch?" Marcus asked.
"My client is prepared to make a significant gesture of goodwill.
Given the stress of the evening, the emotional state of all parties, and the desire to avoid a prolonged and very public legal process —"
"How much?" Marcus said.
Finch named a number.
It was large.
The kind of number that would have ended most disputes before they began.
Marcus looked at him for a long moment.
"No."
"Mr.
Thorne, I understand the emotion involved, but I'd encourage you to consider —"
"She planned this," Marcus said.
"The suite.
The position of her witness.
The timing.
She walked into that room intending to hurt my wife." His voice didn't rise.
"This was not a moment of poor judgment.
This was a campaign.
And I am not interested in what it costs her to make it go away quietly."
Finch leaned forward slightly.
"A criminal proceeding will be very public.
The media attention alone —"
"Will show exactly what she did," Marcus said.
"On camera.
In a hospital.
To a pregnant woman." He stood.
"I think you know how that plays."
Finch was quiet.
"There's something else," he said.
He reached into his briefcase and removed a single sheet of paper.
He set it on the table between them.
"My client asked me to share this with you.
She felt you deserved to know."
Daniel picked it up first.
He read it.
His face gave nothing away, but he set it down carefully.
Marcus picked it up.
It was a letter.
Handwritten.
Dated fourteen months earlier.
It was addressed to Isabella.
It was signed by Marcus's father.
Marcus read it twice.
Then he set it on the table.
"Where did she get this?" he asked.
"She says your father gave it to her directly."
"My father has been in a care facility for two years.
He doesn't write letters."
"She says this predates his decline."
"It's dated fourteen months ago." Marcus looked at Finch.
"He was already in the facility fourteen months ago."
Finch said nothing.
"This is a forgery," Daniel said quietly.
"That is a serious accusation," Finch said.
"It's an observation." Daniel picked the letter up again, holding it to the light.
"The paper stock is consistent with commercially available stationery.
The signature is close but the pressure pattern is wrong — his hands shake.
Have for eighteen months." He set it down.
"You can add document fraud to the list."
Finch gathered his papers slowly.
He stood.
"My client's offer stands for forty-eight hours," he said.
"It was never on the table," Marcus said.
Finch left without another word.
Daniel waited until the door closed.
Then he looked at Marcus.
"She forged a letter from your father," he said.
"What was in it?"
Marcus picked it up one more time.
He read the last line aloud.
"'Isabella has always been the right choice for this family.
I hope you will see that before it is too late.'"
He set it down.
"She's been building this for a long time," he said.
May you like
"Yes," Daniel said.
"And she just handed us proof."
