CHAPTER 36: The Meeting

POV: Avalon Pierce

Pier 39 was crowded for a Sunday afternoon.

Tourists, street performers, the smell of seafood and salt water was everywhere and see lions barking in the distance.

Avalon stood at the north end, exactly where the caller had instructed by 2PM.

Selene was fifty feet away, pretending to watch the sea lions, while Diana was at a café with a clear sightline. Margaret had refused to be left out—she was browsing a souvenir shop nearby and somewhere in the crowd, two private security guards Diana had hired were watching.

If this went bad, they’d have witnesses and backup.

Avalon’s phone buzzed.

Turn around.

He did.

A woman stood behind him, she is in her mid-thirties wearing an expensive suit and designer sunglasses. She looked like she belonged in a boardroom, not on a tourist pier.

“Mr. Pierce,” she said. “Thank you for coming.”

“You’re the one who called?”

“No. I’m the one he sent.” She gestured toward the water. “Walk with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are.”

“My name is Victoria Hartwell. I’m a corporate attorney, I represented Marcus Pierce in several private matters.”

Avalon’s mind raced. “His affair. You’re Jennifer Hartley’s sister.”

Victoria’s expression didn’t change. “ I see you've been doing your homework.”

“My investigators are thorough. So you knew Marcus was having an affair with your sister. Did you facilitate it?”

“I facilitated a lot of things for Marcus. The affair was just one.” She pulled out her phone and

showed him a photo.

Marcus, sitting in what looked like a private club, with two other men Avalon didn’t recognize.

“This was taken three weeks ago,” Victoria said. “Notice the man on the left.”

Avalon zoomed in. Distinguished, mid-fifties, wearing an expensive watch.

“Should I know him?”

“That’s Richard Castellanos, Selene's father.“

Avalon felt ice flood his veins.

“That’s impossible. Selene’s father left when she was a kid. She hasn’t seen him in over a decade.”

“She hasn’t, but Marcus found him six months ago in Miami. He was running a real estate development company under a different name. Richard was very interested when Marcus told him about his daughter’s marriage to a billionaire.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. Richard and Marcus made a deal, he would help Marcus contest the will in exchange for a ten percent cut of the inheritance. Which is eighty million dollars.”

Avalon’s mind spun. “Why would Marcus need Richard?”

“Apparently, Richard had leverage, he knew things about Selene’s childhood, her mother’s death,  why he really left. These things could be twisted to make Selene look unstable and unsuitable as your wife.”

“What things?”

Victoria shook her head. “That’s not my story to tell but Marcus was planning to use Richard as a witness. To testify that Selene had a history of manipulation, of using people for money just like her father did.”

“Selene doesn’t even know where her father is.”

“Exactly. Which made it perfect story. Marcus could trot out this long-lost father figure, have him tell devastating stories about Selene’s character, and she would have no way to defend herself. No relationship, no context, just accusations.”

Avalon felt rage building. “If this is true, why are you telling me?”

“For one,  Marcus is dead and Richard Castellanos is still out there interested in the promised eighty million dollars.”

“The will challenge died with Marcus.”

“I don't think so” Victoria pulled out another document. “This is a legal filing submitted on Friday morning. Three hours before Marcus's death.... Richard Castellanos, as Selene’s biological father, is claiming he has standing order to challenge Lorraine Pierce’s will on his daughter’s behalf arguing that the marriage clause was designed to exploit Selene’s financial desperation and that Nene was engaging in undue influence.”

Avalon grabbed the document to scan it through.

It was real. Filed with the court and signed by Richard Castellanos.

“He’s using the same arguments Marcus used. The same legal strategy but from a different angle—as Selene’s concerned father trying to protect her from exploitation.”

“Selene will never support this.”

“He doesn’t need her support, he just needs standing order and as her biological father, he has it.” Victoria put her phone away. “Richard didn’t kill Marcus but he intends to benefit from Marcus’s death. The fraud case was dismissed, will challenge was failing and Marcus was becoming a liability. So someone removed him from the equation and left Richard to pick up the pieces.”

"The question now is who killed Marcus?”

Victoria hesitated. “I don’t know for certain but I have suspicions.”

“Tell me.”

“The man on the right in that photo. His name is Vincent Caruso. He’s a corporate raider who specializes in hostile takeovers of family businesses in crisis. He and Marcus had been talking for months about Pierce Holdings.”

“About what?”

“About how vulnerable the company would be during a protracted legal battle over the will. How the board would be divided. How stock prices would drop and how it would be the perfect time for a takeover bid.”

Avalon felt sick. “Marcus was planning to help someone take over Pierce Holdings?”

“Not exactly. Marcus wanted the inheritance but he knew he might not get it. So he had a backup plan—if he couldn’t have the company, he’d sell it to Vincent for a very generous finder’s f*e.”

“How generous?”

“Two hundred million.”

“Jesus.”

“Vincent was patient. He was willing to wait for the legal battle to weaken the company. But then you and Selene won the fraud case. The will stood. Marcus’s challenge was failing. Which meant Vincent’s opportunity was slipping away.”

“So Vincent killed Marcus to—what? Create more chaos?”

“That's a theory, another theory is that he probably did to tie up loose ends. Marcus knew too much about the offshore accounts, the illegal leaks, the conspiracy to destabilize Pierce Holdings. Marcus being alive and desperate was a liability and his death is a martyr whose crusade can continue through Richard.”

Avalon’s head spun. “In one word, there’s a conspiracy that Marcus, Richard Castellanos, and Vincent Caruso are working together to either steal my inheritance or destroy my company.”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

“Why? Why are you telling me this? If you represented Marcus, you’re violating attorney-client privilege.”

Victoria removed her sunglasses. Her eyes were red.

“Because my sister is dead.”

Avalon went still. “What?”

“Jennifer, my sister. Marcus’s mistress, she died Friday night. They said it was a car accident that her vehicle had lost control on Highway 1 and went over the cliff.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Please don't be. I know it wasn’t an accident.” Victoria’s voice shook. “Jennifer called me Thursday night, she said Marcus had given her documents to hold. Insurance, that was what he called it. Evidence of everything—the offshore accounts, the conspiracy with Vincent and Richard, proof of who leaked your wife’s medical records. She said if anything happened to Marcus, she was supposed to give them to the police.”

“What happened to the documents?”

“I don’t know, her apartment was ransacked, documents gone and now she’s dead too.”

“You think Vincent killed her?”

“I think someone did, most likely the same person who killed Marcus. Someone is tying up loose ends.” Victoria handed Avalon a flash drive. “This is everything I have, emails between Marcus and Richard, financial records showing payments from Vincent. It’s not all the evidence—Jennifer had the really damaging stuff—but it is enough to prove the conspiracy existed.”

Avalon took the flash drive. “Why give this to me? You could go to the police.”

“The police think you killed Marcus. If I go to them, they’ll think I’m helping a murderer cover his tracks but if you go to them with proof that someone else had motive—Vincent, Richard, whoever killed Jennifer—they would  have to investigate.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“Justice for my sister and maybe some peace knowing I did the right thing even if it’s too late.”

Avalon looked at her and saw genuine grief.

“I’m sorry about Jennifer.”

“So am I. She was stupid for getting involved with Marcus but she didn’t deserve to die for it.” Victoria put her sunglasses back on. “Watch your back, Mr. Pierce. Whoever killed Marcus and Jennifer is still out there,  you are also the only thing standing between them and Pierce Holdings.”

She walked away, disappearing into the tourist crowd.

Avalon stood frozen, flash drive in hand.

Selene appeared beside him. “What happened?”

“We need to go. NOW.”

They walked quickly toward Diana and Margaret.

“What did she say?” Diana asked.

“Not here. We will discuss that in the car.”

Five minutes later, they were in the SUV, doors locked, driving away from the pier.

Avalon told them everything about Richard Castellanos, Vincent Caruso, the conspiracy, Jennifer’s death and the missing documents.

When he finished, silence filled the car.

Finally, Margaret spoke. “Richard Castellanos is Selene’s father.”

“Yes.”

“And he’s trying to steal her inheritance by pretending to protect her.”

“Yes.”

Selene’s voice was barely a whisper. “My father is alive?”

Avalon took her hand. “Selene—”

“He’s alive. He has been alive this whole time and he teamed up with Marcus to destroy us.”

“We don’t know—”

Selene cut him short, visibly shaking from such much anger. “He abandoned me and Maya when I was eight years old after the death of our mother. We thought—we thought maybe he was dead too, that maybe, he couldn’t handle the death of his wife but he wasn’t dead. He was in Miami, living under a different name and now he wants money?“

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, be ready.” Selene turned to face him, her eyes were hard. “Because if my father thinks he can waltz in here after over eighteen years and steal from us, he’s about to learn what a mistake that was.”

Diana held up the flash drive. “First, we analyze this. We see what evidence Victoria gave us and we can then go to the police with everything. We make them see that you’re not suspects but a targets.”

“And then?” Selene asked.

“Then we go to war against Richard, Vincent and whoever killed Marcus and Jennifer. We will burn it all down.”

Margaret’s phone rang. She answered, listened and went pale.

“What?” Avalon asked.

“That was Robert one of the board members. Vincent Caruso just filed a formal acquisition offer for Pierce Holdings. Five billion dollars. Contingent on board approval.”

“When?”

“This morning. It’s already public. The stock jumped fifteen percent on the news.”

Avalon felt his world tilting. “He’s making his move.”

“Not just making it, he is accelerating it. The board will be meeting on Thursday to vote on whether to even consider the offer. If they vote yes, we go into acquisition negotiations and if those succeed—”

“We lose the company. Everything Nene built and everything we’ve fought for.”

“Exactly.”

Diana cursed. “He killed Marcus to clear the path, killed Jennifer to hide the evidence and now he’s moving fast before we can expose him.”

“Can we stop it?” Selene asked.

“I don’t know. The board has a fiduciary duty to consider legitimate acquisition offers. Five billion is well above market value. If Vincent can make the case that it’s in the shareholders’ best interest—”

“Then we have four days,” Avalon said. “Four days to prove Vincent Caruso is a murderer,  to expose Richard Castellanos and to save Pierce Holdings.”

“And if we can’t?” Selene asked.

Avalon looked at his wife, at the woman he loved, at the life they are fighting so hard to build.

“Then we lose everything.”

They went directly to Diana’s office.

Spent the next six hours going through the flash drive.

It was worse than Victoria had said.

Emails between Marcus and Richard going back eight months. Richard offering to testify against Selene,  Marcus promising money, connections and revenge against the daughter who’d moved on without him.

Financial records showing payments from Vincent to Marcus. Two million over six months labeled as “consulting fees” but clearly a payoffs.

A contract, unsigned but drafted between Marcus Pierce and Vincent Caruso outlining the plan to destabilize Pierce Holdings through legal challenges, media attacks, and board manipulation and then swoop in with an acquisition offer when the company was vulnerable.

A particular email that made Avalon’s blood run cold was the one from Vincent to Marcus, dated one week before Marcus died.

You’re becoming a liability , the fraud case has failed, his wife testified too well and the judge saw through it. I need you to escalate things, use the father,  everything or I’ll find someone who will.

“He threatened Marcus,” Selene said. “A week before he died.”

“It is not enough proof that Vincent killed him,” Diana cautioned. “But it is a motive combined with Jennifer’s death, the timing of the acquisition offer—it should builds a case.”

“Strong enough for the police?” Avalon asked.

“Maybe. If we can connect Vincent to either death, right now we only have conspiracy, fraud and maybe bribery but not murder.”

Margaret stood. “We need to make the all of that connect together, we have four days before the board vote. We are going to use every resource, every investigator, every contact we have and can get. We must proof that Vincent Caruso killed Marcus and Jennifer and stop this acquisition.”

“What about Richard?” Selene asked quietly.

Everyone turned to look at her.

“What about your father?” Diana asked gently.

“He filed the legal challenge claiming to protect me and at some point, the court will want to hear from me. They'll want to know if I support his claim.”

“What will you say?”

Selene’s jaw set. “I’ll say my father abandoned me years ago, that he’s a stranger trying to exploit my marriage for money and I want nothing to do with him or his lawsuit.”

“He might try to contact you, maybe  convince you—”

“Let him try. I have nothing to say to him.”

But even as she said it, Avalon saw the pain in her eyes.

Her father was alive.

And he was just as bad as they’d feared.

That night, back at the penthouse, Selene stood at the window.

Avalon found her there at midnight.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked.

“I keep thinking about my father. Wondering what he looks like now or if Maya and I would even recognize him.”

“Do you want to see him?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She turned to face Avalon. “Part of me wants to confront him, maybe ask why he left and never came back, but most importantly, why he thinks he has any right to my life now.”

“And the other part?”

“I want to pretend he’s still dead, that he'll never came back and some things are better left buried.”

Avalon pulled her close. “Whatever you decide, I’m with you.”

“Even if I want to see him?”

“Even then. Though I’ll probably want to punch him.”

Despite everything, Selene smiled. “Get in line behind Maya.”

They stood together in the dark.

Vincent Caruso was moving to acquire Pierce Holdings.

Richard Castellanos was claiming to protect Selene while trying to steal from her.

And somewhere out there, a killer was tying up loose ends.

Four days until the board voted.

Four days to expose a conspiracy.

Four days to save everything.

Avalon’s phone buzzed again. Unknown number.

A text.

Stop digging. Victoria Hartley made a mistake talking to you do not make the same mistake she did.

He showed Selene.

Her face went white. “They’re threatening us.”

“They’re threatening Victoria.”

“We have to warn her.”

Avalon was already dialing Diana. It went to voicemail.

He tried Victoria’s number. The one she’d given him at the pier.

It rang, and rang, and rang.

Finally, voicemail.

“Victoria, it’s Avalon Pierce. Call me immediately. I think you might be in danger please don't go home or anywhere alone. Call me.”

He hung up.

Looked at Selene.

“What if we’re too late?” she whispered.

“We’re not. We can’t be.”

But even as he said it, Avalon felt dread settling in his stomach.

Victoria had given them evidence, told them about the conspiracy and as such, made herself a target.

And if whoever killed Marcus and Jennifer was tying up loose ends—

Victoria was next.