Chapter 4 - The Mistress Who Wanted More Than My Husband
The company was called Northstar Advisory Partners.
Elegant name.
Empty office.
No website.
Registered in Delaware.
Beneficial owner:
Selina Cross.
Over fourteen months, Vance Global clients had paid approximately forty-three million dollars to Northstar under “strategic licensing” and “market access” agreements.
The contracts were authorized by Flynn.
That part almost destroyed me.
Not emotionally.
Legally.
If Flynn knowingly diverted company revenue into his mistress’s private company while negotiating a sale, he had far larger problems than adultery.
I demanded to see the contracts.
Marcus resisted until Elaine reminded him I represented a twenty-seven-percent shareholder with audit rights.
By midnight, I had read every one.
And something felt wrong.
I called Rebecca.
“Flynn didn’t write these.”
“What?”
“The clauses.”
“You can tell?”
“I spent seven years reviewing financial-services contracts.”
I pointed at the screen though she could not see.
“These agreements shift liability back to Vance Global in a way Flynn would hate.”
“Maybe he didn’t read them.”
“That’s possible.”
But something else bothered me.
Flynn was arrogant.
Careless.
Unfaithful.
Controlling.
But he was not usually stupid with corporate contracts.
Then I found the approval trail.
His electronic signature.
Timestamped 2:14 a.m.
On a night he had been with me at Massachusetts General Hospital because Clara had pneumonia.
I remembered the date perfectly.
Flynn had slept in a chair beside her bed.
I had watched him.
He could not have been signing documents from his office computer.
I called Marcus.
“Pull the IP authentication for these signatures.”
He hesitated.
“That may take time.”
“Do it.”
At 8:00 the next morning, we had the answer.
The authorizations came from Flynn’s executive credentials.
But the device belonged to—
Selina.
Rebecca leaned back.
“So she used his credentials.”
“Yes.”
“Did he give them to her?”
“Probably.”
“That still creates liability.”
“I know.”
But it changed something.
Flynn had not necessarily designed Northstar.
Selina might be stealing from him too.
That did not make me sympathetic.
It made me cautious.
At 10:00, I met Flynn privately.
No lawyers.
My decision.
He looked terrible.
Unshaven.
Same shirt from the previous day.
“You wanted to see me.”
“Yes.”
I placed the Northstar contracts on the table.
His face changed.
“What is this?”
I watched carefully.
Not acting.
Real surprise.
“You approved them.”
“No.”
“Your credentials did.”
He grabbed the documents.
“What the hell is Northstar?”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
I believed him.
That irritated me.
Because it would have been cleaner if every terrible thing belonged to one villain.
Life rarely cooperates.
“Selina owns it.”
Flynn stared.
“What?”
“Forty-three million dollars moved through it.”
His face drained.
“That’s impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
He stood.
“She told me those agreements were vendor renewals.”
There it was.
“You gave her your credentials.”
“She handled administrative approvals.”
“Flynn.”
“I was busy.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You were sleeping with the person you gave unrestricted access to company systems.”
His face tightened.
“Yes.”
“Impressive governance.”
He looked down.
For once, he did not defend himself.
Then something worse happened.
He looked hurt.
“She stole from me.”
I stared.
“Do not.”
“What?”
“Do not stand there and ask me to comfort you because your mistress betrayed you.”
“I didn’t.”
“You looked like you were about to.”
Flynn rubbed his face.
“Mabel, I know what I did.”
“No.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I know I destroyed our marriage.”
“Maybe.”
His eyes lifted.
“You haven’t filed?”
“Not yet.”
Hope appeared.
I killed it immediately.
“Because my lawyer is still tracing assets.”
His face fell.
Good.
Cruel perhaps.
But good.
I continued.
“You need to tell the board everything you gave Selina access to.”
Flynn’s expression hardened from shame to business instinct.
“If this becomes public, Atherton walks.”
“Atherton should walk until the books are accurate.”
“The company could lose hundreds of millions in valuation.”
“Then the company was never worth what you were trying to sell it for.”
“Mabel.”
“You do not get to hide fraud because exposure is expensive.”
He stared.
That sentence sounded like my father.
I heard it too.
Flynn sat down.
“What do you want?”
The old answer would have been:
My husband back.
My family intact.
An apology.
Now?
“I want truth.”
He looked away.
“All of it.”
I continued.
“When did you first sleep with Selina?”
His jaw tightened.
“Two years ago.”
“Where?”
“New York.”
“Business trip?”
“Yes.”
“Did it stop?”
“No.”
“Did you love her?”
He looked at me.
“I thought I did.”
The answer hurt more than no would have.
I nodded.
“Okay.”
“Mabel—”
“How much did you tell her about me?”
He did not answer.
“Flynn.”
“Too much.”
“About my father?”
Silence.
My skin went cold.
“What did you tell her?”
“That your father helped early in the company.”
“Did you tell her how?”
“I didn’t know the exact structure.”
“But you knew he invested.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
That one came quietly.
Finally.
No excuse.
“Why?”
“Pride.”
I stared.
“He saved the company.”
“Yes.”
“And you wanted everyone to think you did.”
“Yes.”
My throat tightened.
At least infidelity involved desire.
This betrayal involved identity.
Flynn had built his legend partly on my father’s hidden money and never told me.
“What else?”
He looked exhausted.
“I told Selina you didn’t understand company finance anymore.”
I laughed once.
“Convenient.”
“I was angry.”
“About what?”
“You questioned expenses.”
“Because I noticed things.”
“Yes.”
“And that threatened you.”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
It was the most honest conversation we had had in years.
Which was tragic.
Then his phone rang.
Selina.
He stared at the screen.
I looked too.
“Answer.”
“Mabel—”
“Speaker.”
He hesitated.
Then did.
“Flynn?”
Selina sounded nervous.
“Where are you?”
“With counsel.”
He lied.
“What’s happening?”
“Why?”
“The audit team is asking about Northstar.”
Flynn looked at me.
I nodded.
He continued.
“What should I tell them?”
Silence.
Then Selina said softly:
“Tell them you created it.”
Flynn’s face changed.
“What?”
“You approved everything.”
“I did not create Northstar.”
Another pause.
“Flynn, listen to me.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened.
“You listen.”
Selina went quiet.
“What did you do?”
Her tone changed instantly.
Cold.
Not affectionate.
“Be careful.”
Flynn stared.
“Is that a threat?”
“I am reminding you how much documentation has your name on it.”
My stomach tightened.
Selina continued.
“You really don’t want your board believing you misled investors.”
Flynn looked at me.
For the first time, he understood.
He was not her partner anymore.
He was her shield.
“What do you want?”
“Stop the audit.”
“I can’t.”
“Then make your wife stop it.”
Flynn looked at me again.
I held his gaze.
Selina continued.
“She still listens to you, doesn’t she?”
Something in Flynn’s face broke.
“No.”
He said it quietly.
“No, she doesn’t.”
Then he ended the call.
We sat in silence.
Finally, Flynn whispered:
“She used me.”
I stood.
“Yes.”
He looked up.
“And you used me.”
He flinched.
I gathered my papers.
“Difference is, Selina wanted your company.”
I moved toward the door.
May you like
“You only wanted my obedience.”
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