Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO OWNED HIS EMPIRE STEPPED FORWARD
Then she looked toward my table.
"There's someone I'd like the audience to meet."
My heart began pounding.
Victoria continued.
"Many of you know Altair Capital through its investment partnerships. Our ownership structure has remained private for legitimate commercial reasons."
She paused.
"But tonight, our founder has agreed to introduce herself."
Preston frowned.
I stood.
At first, he didn't understand.
He looked toward the stage.
Then toward me.
Then back again.
Victoria smiled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Reese Sutherland. Founder and controlling owner of Altair Capital."
The room fell silent.
I stepped away from the table.
My grandfather rose beside me.
I walked toward the stage.
Every step seemed louder than the last.
Preston stared at me.
His mouth opened.
Then closed.
I reached the microphone.
For a moment, I looked out across the ballroom.
Hundreds of faces.
People who had known me as Preston Lyle's quiet wife.
People who'd heard him joke about my supposed ignorance.
People who had watched him parade Sabrina through the room.
I took a breath.
"Good evening."
My voice was steady.
"My name is Reese Sutherland. I established Altair Capital before my marriage, and I've remained its controlling owner throughout."
A ripple of whispers spread across the tables.
I continued.
"Altair has been a significant investor in Lyle Holdings for several years."
Preston looked as though he'd been struck.
I turned toward him.
"That includes financing arrangements supporting some of the company's earliest acquisitions."
He shook his head.
"No."
I looked at him.
"Yes, Preston."
He stepped forward.
"That's impossible."
I didn't answer immediately.
Then I said, "You once told me that successful people understand where their money comes from."
A few people shifted uncomfortably.
I continued.
"You might want to take your own advice."
His face reddened.
"You set me up."
I looked at him.
"I invested in a company I believed had potential."
"You manipulated me!"
"No."
I paused.
"I trusted you."
That silenced him.
For one moment, the anger left his face.
I saw something almost like recognition.
Then it disappeared.
He pointed toward me.
"She's unstable. She's been behaving irrationally for days."
I stepped back from the microphone.
Victoria moved forward.
"Mr. Lyle, Altair has already referred your allegations and financing demands to counsel. We won't discuss confidential records in this ballroom."
Preston looked around desperately.
Several investors were watching him with expressions he clearly didn't like.
One of his banking partners quietly stood and left.
Sabrina moved toward the exit.
Preston caught her wrist.
"Stay."
She pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
He stared at her.
She looked toward me.
Then toward the audience.
For the first time that evening, she seemed frightened.
I stepped away from the stage.
I'd imagined this moment so many times.
Preston humiliated.
His confidence destroyed.
The truth about Altair finally revealed.
I thought it would feel like victory.
Instead, I felt tired.
Because no amount of public embarrassment could undo what he'd tried to do to my child.
As I reached my grandfather, Calvin leaned toward me.
"Miss Sutherland, Detective Brooks is outside."
I looked at him.
"Now?"
He nodded.
"She has a warrant."
My heart skipped.
"For Preston?"
"Yes."
I looked toward the center of the ballroom.
Preston was arguing with Victoria.
His voice had risen.
He was demanding access to records, threatening lawsuits, insisting that everyone had conspired against him.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
Two plainclothes investigators entered with uniformed officers.
Detective Brooks walked directly toward Preston.
"Mr. Lyle?"
He turned.
"Who are you?"
"Detective Elena Brooks. I'd like you to come with us."
Preston looked irritated.
"I'm in the middle of a business event."
She showed him her identification.
"We have a warrant for your arrest."
The words seemed to stop the air in the room.
Preston stared.
"On what grounds?"
Brooks remained calm.
"Charges relating to the alleged unlawful restraint of your wife, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, and the planned unauthorized medical procedure."
Sabrina stepped backward.
Preston looked toward me.
His expression twisted.
"You."
I said nothing.
He pointed.
"You did this."
Detective Brooks stepped between us.
"Mr. Lyle, put your hands behind your back."
Preston laughed.
It was a strange sound.
High.
Disbelieving.
"You can't arrest me. Do you know who I am?"
Brooks didn't react.
"Turn around, sir."
He looked toward my grandfather.
"Augustus, tell them this is ridiculous."
My grandfather remained still.
Preston's eyes moved toward Victoria.
Then Sabrina.
Then me.
Nobody moved to help him.
Finally, he turned.
The handcuffs clicked shut.
The sound was quiet.
But I heard it clearly.
I thought about the straps around my wrists.
The syringe.
The cold steel table.
And the moment I'd believed my child and I might never leave that room.
Preston looked over his shoulder.
"Reese, please."
I stared at him.
His voice changed.
"We can fix this."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Please, sweetheart."
That word.
Sweetheart.
He'd used it when bringing me breakfast in bed.
When telling me he loved me.
When driving me to the clinic.
I looked directly at him.
"You don't get to call me that anymore."
Detective Brooks escorted him away.
The ballroom remained silent.
I didn't watch him disappear through the doors.
I turned toward my grandfather.
And for the first time since escaping the clinic, I began to shake.
He wrapped his arms around me.
"It's all right," he whispered.
May you like
But I knew it wasn't.
Not yet.
