Chapter 6 - Ryan’s Family Chooses the Wrong Side
By noon, Ryan’s mother was calling Claire every three minutes.
Claire ignored the first five calls.
On the sixth, Dana said, “Answer it. Speaker.”
Claire did.
Patricia Morgan’s voice filled the Denver conference room, sharp with outrage.
“Claire, what on earth are you doing to my son?”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Claire looked at him while she answered.
“Good afternoon, Patricia.”
“Do not good afternoon me. Ryan is humiliated. Chloe’s mother called me sobbing. Airport police? Corporate lawyers? Have you lost your mind?”
Claire almost admired the efficiency.
Somehow, Chloe’s mother had become the victim before lunch.
“Patricia,” Claire said, “your son was caught on a flight with Chloe after telling me he was flying to Portland.”
A pause.
Then Patricia said, “Marriages have private difficulties.”
Claire looked at Dana.
Dana’s expression said, Keep going.
Claire asked, “Did you know?”
Ryan’s eyes opened.
Patricia exhaled. “I knew Ryan was unhappy.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Claire, you are a brilliant woman, but you can be very cold. Men need warmth. Chloe gave him kindness when you gave him schedules.”
The words should have hurt.
Instead, they clarified everything.
Ryan had not hidden Chloe from his mother.
He had explained her.
Packaged her.
Made himself the lonely husband and Claire the ambitious wife who forgot how to love him.
Claire’s voice went quiet.
“Did you know he was using my company access?”
“What company access?”
Ryan mouthed, Stop.
Claire did not.
“Patricia, did Ryan ever mention an emergency Denver contract?”
Silence.
Then Patricia said, “He said Chloe was helping him build something independent. Something you couldn’t control.”
Ryan dropped his head.
Dana wrote it down.
Patricia seemed to realize too late that she had said too much.
“Claire, I don’t know the details.”
“No,” Claire said. “But you knew enough to bless the betrayal.”
Patricia’s voice broke into anger.
“You pushed him away.”
“I was at work paying for the life he used to impress his mistress.”
That finally shut her up.
Then Ryan’s father, George, came onto the line.
“Claire,” he said, heavy and stern, “don’t destroy a man’s career over hurt feelings.”
Claire looked at the detectives sitting across the room.
“This is not about feelings.”
“He’s your husband.”
“He is a liability.”
Ryan flinched.
George’s voice rose. “You’ll regret speaking about him that way.”
Claire’s hand tightened around the phone.
For years, George had treated her like a useful addition to the family. Smart enough to help with tax questions. Organized enough to host. Successful enough to brag about when convenient. But never fully one of them. Never someone whose pain outweighed Ryan’s discomfort.
She ended the call without saying goodbye.
Ryan stared at her.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Claire looked at him.
“Your parents knew about Chloe.”
He looked away.
“That’s not the same as knowing everything.”
“No. It’s just enough to know they don’t get to call me family anymore.”
A message popped onto Ryan’s phone.
Claire saw the sender.
Mom.
She did not read the full text, but the preview said enough.
Do not let Claire take everything. Remember what Chloe said about the shares.
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“What shares?”
Ryan shoved the phone into his pocket.
Dana’s pen stopped.
Detective Moreno, who had arrived ten minutes earlier with her partner, noticed the motion.
“Mr. Morgan,” she said, “you may want to preserve that message.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
Claire turned to Dana.
“Pull the shareholder registry.”
Dana looked puzzled.
“You mean Morgan Construction?”
“Yes.”
Ryan suddenly looked terrified.
That was when Claire realized the deeper theft had not been the emergency contract.
May you like
The deeper theft was waiting somewhere else.
And Ryan’s mother had just tripped over it.
