Chapter 6
The contract signing was set for next Friday.
But on Tuesday, something happened.
"Ms. Nolan, Everwell wants to add a new clause—they want us to disclose any related party transactions," Katie said as she came in holding the updated contract.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"They want us to list out the family ties of all shareholders and execs—who's married, who their immediate relatives are, the whole deal," Katie explained.
I took the contract and turned to the relevant section.
"Article 17: Party B must honestly disclose the family connections of its actual controller, and any relationships that could affect the fairness of the partnership"
This was all about me.
Richard was trying to feel me out.
He wanted to know if there was still anything between me and Lucas. But really, he was trying to find out about Alex.
"Katie, I'm not signing that clause," I said.
"So what do we do about the contract?" Katie asked.
"Delete Article 17, leave the rest as is. If they won't budge, we pull out," I said.
"Emma, that's a ten-million-dollar deal—" Katie said.
The ten million can be obtained from other channels. But if information about Alex falls into the hands of The Nolan Family, what I lose is not ten million.
Katie opened her mouth, but didn't say anything else.
She knew I was doing the right thing.
I had the legal team send Everwell a letter outlining our revisions, deleting Article 17 and adding a note: "Nolan Health's controlling shareholder information is already publicly available in the corporate registry. If you require compliance information, please refer to official channels."
It was polite, but it was a clear rejection.
That afternoon, Grace called.
"Ms. Nolan. Article 17 is a standard clause from our legal department. All partners have to sign it," Grace said.
"Ms. White, I reviewed your cooperation contract templates from the past three years, and this clause was not included. This is a new addition."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"Ms. Nolan, you really don't miss a thing," Grace said.
"In this business, if you're not on top of the details, you don't last," I replied.
"Alright, I'll run this by Chairman Nolan and get back to you," Grace said.
"Fine. Get back to me before Friday, or we'll move on," I replied.
I hung up.
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.
Richard was turning up the heat.
He'd recognized me, and now he was trying to find evidence.
'I need to step up my game.' Emma thought, feeling the pressure mounting.
*****
It was Thursday night.
I stayed at the office working overtime until ten.
Just as I was about to lock up, my phone rang.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
"Ms. Nolan? This is Grace from Everwell Holdings," Grace said.
Ms. White, it's so late.
"There's something I want to tell you off the record," Grace said.
Her tone wasn't as formal as it had been during the day—there was an undertone I hadn't heard before.
"Go ahead," I said.
"Ms. Nolan, Chairman Nolan agreed to drop Article 17. We're all set for the signing on Friday," Grace said.
"Great, thanks for the heads-up," Emma replied.
"But there's something else I want to ask you," Grace said.
"Yeah? What is it?" I replied.
"Ms. Nolan, what's going on between you and Lucas?" Grace asked, her tone a little more curious than before.
My fingers tightened around my phone.
"Lucas and I have nothing to do with each other," I said.
"Is that so? When you came to Everwell for the negotiation, Chairman Nolan acted really out of character. He almost never treats a partner's representative like that. Afterward, he had someone look into your background," Grace said.
"What did they find?" I asked.
"Your business records, education, and startup history—all clean. But there was one thing—they found out you were married five years ago," Grace said.
I didn't say anything.
"The name of your spouse was masked, but the government records don't hide everything. Chairman Nolan was able to see the last name," Grace said.
"So what?" I asked.
"Ms. Nolan, I'm not here to interrogate you. I just want to know one thing," Grace said.
Grace lowered her voice, barely above a whisper.
"Is Lucas your ex-husband?" Grace asked.
I stayed silent for five seconds.
"Grace, you know exactly who your fiancé is. Let's not pretend—that's not the real question you want to ask," Emma said.
"Alright, I'll just say it," Grace said, cutting straight to the point. "Is the boy you brought to the ER that day Lucas's kid?"
With the phone pressed to my ear, I could hear my heart racing.
"Ms. White, everything you're saying right now has nothing to do with the partnership between Everwell and Nolan Health. If you're trying to use my personal life to interfere with our deal, you'd better think twice," I said.
"Ms. Nolan, you've got it wrong. That's not what I meant," Grace said.
"Then what are you getting at?" I pressed.
"I'm just a woman trying to figure out if there's anything about my fiancé's past I need to know," Grace said.
"You should be asking Lucas, not me," Emma said.
"I already did. He told me there's nothing going on between you two," Grace replied.
"Then that's all there is," Emma said.
"But he left the house at three in the morning yesterday. When he came back this morning, there was a little green dinosaur toy in his car—the kind you see with little kids," Grace said.
That little dinosaur toy.
It belonged to Alex.
The same one Alex was clutching in the car outside Eastside Medical Center.
'Did Alex leave his dinosaur behind in the parking lot when we left?' Emma wondered.
"Ms. White, I have no idea what you're talking about. If that's all, I'm hanging up," Emma said.
"Ms. Nolan," Grace said, her voice suddenly cold and no longer gentle.
"Let me give you a warning—Lucas belongs to me. Whatever happened before, he's my fiancé now. If someone thinks having a kid is enough to change that, she'll find out real quick that blood ties alone won't get her into the Nolan family," Grace said.
I hung up.
My palms were slick with sweat.