Chapter 10
Izzy made it to the parking lot before her hands stopped shaking.
She leaned against Alex's car, trying to steady her breathing. The plan had worked, too well. The look on Alex's face when he'd dismissed her hadn't been acting. It felt real. Cold. Exactly like Vivienne had warned.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Alex: *Stay there. I'm coming.*
Five minutes later, he appeared, tie loosened, expression unreadable.
"That was convincing," he said.
"Too convincing."
"Nathan took the bait. He pulled me aside after you left, offered to 'help manage the situation.'" Alex's jaw tightened. "He's already planning his next move."
"What did you say?"
"That I needed time to think. That maybe he was right about you being a distraction."
Izzy flinched despite knowing it was part of the act.
Alex noticed. "I didn't mean it."
"I know."
But the words still stung.
They drove back to the estate in silence. When they arrived, security was waiting at the door.
"Mr. Blackwood. We have a problem."
The problem was sitting in Alex's office.
A lawyer. Mid-fifties, expensive suit, briefcase on his lap.
"Mr. Blackwood, I'm Martin Cross. I represent the Blackwood Foundation's board of directors."
Alex didn't sit down. "I know who you are. What do you want?"
Cross opened his briefcase and pulled out a document. "The board has requested an emergency review of your position as CEO. Given recent events, there are concerns about your judgment and the foundation's public image."
"Based on what? A staged argument?"
"Based on a pattern of erratic behavior. The sudden engagement. The media leaks. The allegations of financial misconduct." Cross slid the document across the desk. "This is a formal notice. The review hearing is scheduled for one week before the gala."
Izzy's stomach dropped. "They moved up the timeline."
Cross looked at her. "The board feels it's necessary. Given the circumstances."
Alex's voice was ice. "Nathan orchestrated this."
"Mr. Hale is simply doing his job as COO. He has the board's best interests at heart."
"He has his own interests at heart. And you know it."
Cross stood. "The hearing is in three weeks. I suggest you prepare accordingly." He nodded at Izzy. "Mrs. Blackwood. Good luck."
He left, and the room felt ten degrees colder.
---
"They're forcing my hand," Alex said. "If I fight this publicly, it looks like I'm unstable. If I don't, Nathan wins by default."
Izzy paced. "What about the evidence? The phone records, the cameras—"
"Circumstantial. A good lawyer would tear it apart." He sat down heavily. "And Cross is a very good lawyer."
"So we need something concrete."
"We need a confession. Or a witness."
Izzy stopped pacing. "What about the staff? Someone must have seen Nathan or Vivienne in your office."
"They're loyal. But loyalty doesn't mean they'll risk their jobs to testify."
"Then we make it worth their while."
Alex looked at her. "You want to bribe them?"
"I want to give them options. Protection. Immunity. Whatever it takes."
He considered this. "That could work. But it's a risk. If word gets back to Nathan...."
"Everything's a risk at this point." Izzy sat down across from him. "We're already playing offense. We might as well go all in."
They started with Maria, the housekeeper who'd been with the family for fifteen years.
She came to Alex's office that evening, nervous and clutching her apron.
"Mr. Blackwood, you wanted to see me?"
"Sit down, Maria. Please."
She perched on the edge of the chair, eyes darting between them.
Alex kept his voice gentle. "I need to ask you something. And I need you to be honest, even if the answer is uncomfortable."
Maria's hands twisted in her lap. "Okay."
"In the last month, have you seen anyone in my office when I wasn't here?"
She hesitated. "I... I clean the office every morning."
"That's not what I asked."
Maria looked down. "I saw Ms. Dane. Three weeks ago. She was at your desk."
Izzy leaned forward. "What was she doing?"
"I don't know. When I came in, she closed the drawer quickly. Said she was looking for old photos of Mrs. Lila."
"Did you believe her?" Alex asked.
Maria shook her head slowly. "Mrs. Lila's photos are in the east wing. Not in your office."
"Did you tell anyone?"
"No, sir. I thought... I thought it wasn't my place."
Alex pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of the hidden cameras. "Have you ever seen anything like this in my office?"
Maria's eyes widened. "No. Never."
"If you had, would you tell me?"
"Of course, Mr. Blackwood. This is wrong. Very wrong."
Izzy and Alex exchanged glances.
"Maria," Alex said carefully. "I need you to write down everything you just told us. Dates, times, and what you saw. Can you do that?"
"Will I... will I be in trouble?"
"No. But I need to know I can count on you. If this goes to a hearing, if you're asked to testify—"
"I'll tell the truth," Maria said firmly. "Ms. Vivienne has been unkind since she arrived. And Mr. Hale..." She trailed off.
"What about Nathan?"
"He offered me money. Last week. Said if I heard or saw anything unusual about you and Mrs. Izzy, I should call him first."
Alex's expression darkened. "How much?"
"Five thousand dollars."
"Did you take it?"
Maria looked offended. "No, sir. I work for you. Not for him."
---
They interviewed four more staff members that night. Two had seen Nathan in restricted areas. One had overheard a phone call between Nathan and Vivienne discussing "accelerating the timeline."
By midnight, they had five written statements and enough evidence to build a case.
"It's not a confession," Izzy said. "But it's something."
"It's enough to cast doubt. And to show the board that Nathan's been operating behind my back." Alex looked at the stack of papers. "We present this at the hearing. Make it public."
"Nathan will deny everything."
"Let him. The staff has no reason to lie. He does."
Izzy rubbed her temples. "Three weeks isn't a lot of time."
"Then we use it every day." He looked at her. "Starting with damage control. We need to fix what happened at the luncheon."
"How?"
"A public appearance. Tomorrow. Something that shows we're still together."
"After that performance? No one's going to believe we made up overnight."
"Then we don't make up. We show them we're working through it. That relationships aren't perfect, but we're committed."
Izzy smiled tiredly. "You've been thinking about this."
"I've been thinking about a lot of things."
---
The next morning, they were photographed leaving a couple's therapist's office.
It wasn't real—the therapist was a friend of Alex's lawyer—but the optics were perfect. Vulnerable. Human. Real.
The headlines changed within hours:
**Blackwood Couple Seeks Counseling After Public Spat**
**Alex and Izzy: Fighting to Make It Work**
Nathan called within the hour.
"Clever," he said when Alex answered. "Playing the sympathetic card."
"I'm not playing anything. Unlike you."
"Careful, Alex. Accusations like that could be considered slander."
"Only if they're false." Alex's voice was cold. "I know about the money you offered Maria. About the phone calls with Vivienne. About the cameras."
Silence on the other end.
"You're bluffing," Nathan said finally.
"Am I? I guess you'll find out at the hearing."
"There won't be a hearing if you step down voluntarily. Save yourself the embarrassment."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Then you're a fool." Nathan's voice hardened. "You think the board will side with you? You're unstable, Alex. Everyone knows it. Marrying a stranger weeks after meeting her. The erratic decisions. The paranoia. You're proving my point every day."
"I'm proving that I won't be manipulated."
"No. You're proving that Lila was right to leave."
Alex hung up before he said something he'd regret.
Izzy watched him from the doorway. "What did he say?"
"What he always says. That I'm broken." Alex set the phone down. "He's not wrong."
"He is wrong." Izzy crossed the room. "You're not broken. You're grieving. There's a difference."
"Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."
She touched his arm. "Then let me carry some of it. That's what partners do."
He looked at her hand on his arm, then at her face. "We're not really partners."
"Aren't we?"
The question hung between them.
Before Alex could answer, his phone buzzed again. A text from an unknown number:
*You want proof? Check the cloud drive. Password: LILA2023.*
Below it was a link.
"What is this?" Izzy asked.
Alex opened the link on his laptop. A shared drive is loaded, filled with documents and video files.
He clicked on the first video.
It was security footage from his office. Date-stamped three weeks ago. The camera angle showed his desk clearly.
And there was Vivienne, planting a recording device inside his desk drawer.
"Oh my god," Izzy whispered.
Alex clicked on another file. An email chain between Nathan and Vivienne, discussing the contract clause. Planning the media leaks. Coordinating their moves down to the day.
"Who sent this?" Izzy asked.
Alex didn't answer. He was staring at the final file in the folder.
An audio recording labeled: *FINAL INSURANCE.*
He clicked play.
Vivienne's voice came through the speakers, clear and cold:
"Once the hearing destroys him, we move on to the estate. It should've been Lila's. It should've been mine. And one way or another, I'm taking back what he stole."
The recording ended.
Izzy looked at Alex. His face was pale, expression unreadable.
"We have them," she said quietly.
"Yeah." His voice was hollow. "We do."