Chapter 5: The Woman Behind the Plan
I needed to understand Scarlett before I could move against her.
Not the version of Scarlett I had believed in for four years — the talented rival who had simply lost gracefully and moved on.
The real one.
The one who had spent four years building a system designed to dismantle me piece by piece.
I started with what I knew.
Scarlett Montgomery.
Her family had money, but the kind of money that required maintenance.
Her father, Gerald Montgomery, ran a private investment firm that had been in minor financial difficulty for years according to public records — nothing catastrophic, but enough that a failed bet on a rigged competition would have stung.
Enough to explain the rage.
I spent the afternoon pulling everything I could find on the family.
Then my phone rang.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
I answered anyway.
"Chloe Bennett?" A woman's voice.
Professional.
Precise.
"Yes."
"My name is Diana Reeves.
I'm a compliance attorney.
I was referred to you by a mutual contact who asked me to call before the situation moves any further."
I sat up straighter.
"What situation?"
"The academic fraud complaint being prepared against you.
I've seen the documentation they intend to file.
I can tell you right now it won't survive a real investigation — the fabrication is detectable.
But filing it is enough to damage you before anyone looks closely." A pause.
"I want to know if you're willing to move first."
"Who referred you?"
A brief silence.
"I'm not able to say.
But they asked me to tell you that the sign your father made had your name in blue marker.
And that he still has it."
I closed my eyes for one second.
Liam had sent her.
"What do you need from me?" I asked.
"Everything you have.
And I mean everything — documentation, timelines, names, financial connections.
If the arrangement between Brendan and the Montgomery family is what I believe it is, this isn't just a personal grievance.
There are judges involved.
There's fabricated evidence.
There are multiple parties coordinating to file a false legal complaint.
That crosses several lines."
"I have a twelve-page record," I said.
"Handwritten and typed.
Financial terms, scheme logs, email correspondence."
Diana went quiet for a moment.
"How complete is it?"
"Complete enough that I know scheme ninety-seven started yesterday."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
"Ms.
Bennett," she said.
"I think you should come to my office today."
I was in her office by four o'clock.
Diana Reeves was in her fifties, with the kind of stillness that came from having sat across from difficult people for a very long time.
She read through the twelve pages without a single comment.
When she finished, she set them flat on her desk and looked at me.
"This is more than I expected," she said.
"Is it enough?"
"For what specifically?"
"To stop the ethics complaint before it's filed.
To expose the judge bribery.
To hold Scarlett's family accountable for orchestrating this."
"Potentially, yes.
The judge bribery alone is actionable, and the Montgomery family's financial fingerprints on a coordinated harassment campaign could constitute tortious conduct." She folded her hands.
"But I need to ask you something first.
When Brendan messages you — are you still in contact with him?"
"He thinks I'm coming tomorrow."
Diana looked at me carefully.
"Does he know you have this?"
"No."
She was quiet for a moment.
Then: "Don't cancel tomorrow.
Go."
I blinked.
"Why?"
"Because right now they're still operating on their original schedule.
They don't know you've spoken to Liam.
They don't know this documentation exists.
If you disappear or cancel, they'll accelerate.
They'll file early and move everything forward before you can respond." She picked up the pages again.
"But if you walk in tomorrow acting like nothing has changed, we have time to build what we need before they realize the ground has already shifted."
I looked at her.
"You want me to sit across from him knowing what I know."
"Yes."
"And say nothing."
"Not yet." She met my eyes.
"Can you do that?"
I thought about ninety-six humiliations recorded in a notebook with ratings.
I thought about my father's sign.
"Yes," I said.
"I can do that."
Diana nodded.
"Then come back Thursday morning.
By then I'll have spoken to two people who need to know about the judge bribery.
And I'll need you to write out every scheme you personally remember experiencing — in your own words, with dates.
Whatever you can recall."
I stood up to leave.
At the door, I stopped.
"Diana.
Who exactly referred you to me?"
She looked up from the pages.
"Someone who has been carrying something heavy for a long time." A pause.
"He sounded relieved when I agreed to call you."
I walked out into the evening.
May you like
Tomorrow I was going to sit across from Brendan and smile.
And the day after, the ground was going to start moving beneath his feet.
