Chapter 3: The Truth Behind Her Tears
I read Naomi's email three times.
Then I called her.
She answered before the first ring had finished.
“Cedric?””
“What does Xavier know?””
There was a pause.
“Where are you?””
“Answer my question.””
“I need to see you.””
“Why?””
“Because this is bigger than you think.””
I glanced at Eleanor.
She was watching me carefully.
“Meet me somewhere public,” I said.
“And don't bring Xavier.””
Naomi agreed to meet me at a coffee shop near the university.
I arrived twenty minutes early.
She came in wearing a beige coat, sunglasses, and the same expensive handbag she had carried at graduation.
But she didn't look like the confident woman who had rejected me in front of hundreds of people.
Her shoulders were tense.
Her fingers kept twisting around the strap of her bag.
She sat opposite me.
“Thank you for coming.””
I didn't touch my coffee.
“Talk.””
She removed her sunglasses.
Her eyes were swollen.
“Xavier approached me six months ago.””
I stared at her.
“Six months?””
She nodded.
“He attended one of the university's research events. He said he was interested in my work and wanted to discuss funding opportunities.””
“And then?””
“We started talking.””
“You started dating.””
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.””
I leaned back.
“While living with me?””
Naomi flinched.
“I know how that sounds.””
“It sounds exactly like what it was.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Cedric, I was under pressure. My doctoral program was ending, and I had no idea what would happen afterward. Xavier offered me opportunities.
He knew people in the industry. He promised he could help me build a career.””
“So you decided I wasn't useful anymore.””
“No!””
Her voice was louder than she intended.
Several people turned.
She lowered it.
“That's not what happened.””
“Then explain why you moved your things before graduation.””
Naomi stared at me.
“I thought you would understand eventually.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Understand what? That my girlfriend had secretly moved in with another man?””
She pressed her palms together.
“Xavier told me he was going to make me a partner in a new research division. He said he could get my work into hospitals and transportation companies.””
“And what did he want in return?””
She hesitated.
I watched her face.
“What did he want, Naomi?””
“Information.””
“What information?””
“Your prototype.””
My jaw tightened.
“How did he know about it?””
“He found out through a university technology newsletter. Someone had mentioned your design during a research discussion.””
I stared at her.
“Did you tell him anything?””
She began crying.
“I didn't understand what he was asking at first.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“He asked whether you had filed a patent. He wanted to know how much of the design was yours, whether you had investors, and whether you were planning to sell it.””
I stood slightly.
“Naomi.””
She reached across the table.
“Please sit down.””
I remained still.
“Did you give him my documents?””
She shook her head.
“Not the full documents.””
“Not the full documents?””
“I showed him a few photographs from your garage. He said he only wanted to understand the technology.””
I pulled my hand away when she tried to touch it.
“You photographed my work?””
“I thought I was helping us.””
“Us?””
She looked at me.
For the first time, I saw how badly she wanted me to accept that word.
Us.
The word she had refused to use at graduation.
I sat down again.
“Why are you telling me this now?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Because Xavier changed after the acquisition offer appeared.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“He started asking me questions about Eleanor Whitmore. He wanted to know whether you had met her. He kept saying that if you inherited anything, the company would become complicated.””
I remembered the board meeting notice.
“Does Xavier know I'm an heir?””
Naomi nodded.
“He found out yesterday.””
My blood ran cold.
“How?””
“He has access to some of the investment records through his father. He saw your name.””
I stared at her.
“And now you're worried?””
She looked down.
“I'm worried about you.””
I almost laughed.
“That's new.””
Her face crumpled.
“Cedric, I know I hurt you. I know I made a terrible mistake. But I never wanted you to lose everything.””
“You already helped me lose something.””
“What?””
“Seven years I can't get back.””
She covered her mouth.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question I had avoided.
“Did you ever love me?””
Naomi closed her eyes.
“I did.””
“Past tense?””
She began crying harder.
“I don't know how to answer that.””
I nodded.
“That's an answer.””
I reached for my jacket.
Before I could stand, Naomi grabbed my wrist.
“Wait. There's something else.””
I looked down at her hand.
She released me.
“Xavier has been using me.””
I said nothing.
“He promised me a position at his father's company. He said I would become the head of a research division after the acquisition.””
“And?””
“He recently told me the position was never guaranteed. He said I was only useful because I had access to you.””
The pieces were beginning to fit together.
“Did he ask you to get me to sign something?””
She nodded.
“He wanted me to convince you to let him review the acquisition proposal.””
I felt a cold wave move through my chest.
“What exactly did he want me to sign?””
Naomi reached into her handbag.
She removed a folded document.
“I took this from his apartment last night.””
I opened it.
The first page contained a proposed consulting agreement.
The second page contained a confidentiality clause.
The third page was much more concerning.
It gave Xavier's investment firm broad authority to negotiate rights related to my braking technology.
And buried near the bottom was a clause granting them an option to purchase certain intellectual property interests at a fixed price.
The amount was less than one-tenth of the preliminary acquisition valuation.
I looked up.
“Did you know what this meant?””
“No. Not until I read it last night.””
“Why would you take it?””
“Because I realized he was going to use me to get to you.””
I folded the papers.
“Why should I believe you?””
She stared at me.
“Because I have nothing left to gain by lying.””
I studied her face.
There was fear in her eyes.
But fear didn't erase betrayal.
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
It was Eleanor.
I answered immediately.
“Cedric, where are you?””
“I'm with Naomi. What's happening?””
Her voice was unusually tense.
“Do not leave wherever you are. I need you to come to the Whitmore headquarters immediately.””
“Why?””
“Xavier's father has called an emergency board meeting.””
I glanced at the document Naomi had handed me.
“When?””
“In forty minutes.””
“What are they discussing?””
There was a pause.
Then Eleanor said something that made my stomach tighten.
“They're claiming your father's original ownership agreement is invalid.””
I stood.
“What?””
“They've submitted documents suggesting your father transferred his shares before he died.””
I looked at Naomi.
She had gone pale.
Eleanor continued.
“Cedric, they're attempting to remove your voting rights before the board reviews your inheritance.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Can they do that?””
“Not if the documents are genuine. But someone has submitted a second agreement bearing your father's signature.””
I looked down at the old document Eleanor had shown me that morning.
My father's signature.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
“Who submitted it?””
Eleanor's answer came quietly.
“Xavier Mitchell.””
I turned toward Naomi.
She was already standing.
“Cedric, there's something I haven't told you.””
I stared at her.
“What now?””
She reached into her handbag again and removed a small flash drive.
“I found this in Xavier's office.””
“What is it?””
“Copies of the documents he used to convince his father that your inheritance could be challenged.””
I took the drive.
Naomi's voice trembled.
“But there's something else on it.””
“What?””
She looked directly into my eyes.
“A recording.””
I waited.
“Of Xavier talking to someone about your father.””
My heart began pounding.
“Who was he talking to?””
Naomi swallowed.
Then she whispered the name.
“Your father's lawyer.””
For a moment, the coffee shop seemed to disappear.
My father's lawyer had died eight years ago.
I remembered attending his funeral.
I remembered my father trusting him with every important document.
I looked at the flash drive in my hand.
“Naomi, are you sure?””
She nodded.
“I heard Xavier say that your father never intended for you to inherit anything. He said the original agreement had been changed before your father died.””
I felt my fingers go cold.
Then Naomi added one final sentence.
“Cedric, I don't think your father lost his company because of a business disagreement.””
She looked toward the window.
“I think someone stole it from him.””
And as I reached for my phone to call Eleanor, a message appeared from an unknown number.
If you want to know what really happened to your father, don't attend that board meeting alone.
May you like
A second message followed.
And don't trust Eleanor Whitmore.
