Chapter 6 - Lauren Pierce
Lauren requested immunity from consequences she had not yet earned.
At least that was how it felt.
Her attorney contacted Wayne and said she possessed records relevant to Crestview investigation and wanted “cooperative resolution.”
No promises.
We met with separate counsel.
Lauren was thirty-four.
Architect.
Not decorative mistress.
Successful in her own right.
Westlake Design Partners had legitimate contracts with Crestview before affair.
That mattered.
She sat across from me without tears.
“I’m sorry.”
“For sleeping with my husband?”
“Yes.”
“That isn’t why we’re here.”
She looked surprised.
Good.
“Did you know Camila Stanford Consulting was fake?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“Seven months ago.”
“Yet you continued receiving money.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Edwin owed Westlake legitimate invoices.”
“How much legitimate?”
“About six hundred thousand.”
“And how much received?”
“Nearly one-point-two million.”
“So twice.”
“Yes.”
“What was excess?”
“He said repayment of personal loans I made to him.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
Documents existed.
Lauren had loaned Edwin $450,000 during Crestview liquidity crunch.
Some excess might be repayment.
Not all illicit.
Then affair.
Started two years earlier.
She knew he was married.
No excuses.
Did she believe we were separated?
“No.”
Good.
Then Victor Hale.
“Why did you hire him?”
“I didn’t initially. Edwin asked Westlake to retain him as ‘competitive intelligence consultant.’”
“On George?”
“Yes.”
“Why through your firm?”
“Because Edwin didn’t want Crestview records showing surveillance of father-in-law.”
That was clear.
“What did Victor investigate?”
“Trust structure, health, lenders, Wayne.”
“Anything illegal?”
Lauren’s attorney answered:
“We cannot characterize without full review.”
Fair.
Then:
“Did Victor monitor Dad physically?”
“Yes.”
“Medical records?”
Lauren hesitated.
“He claimed he had source.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did Edwin receive health information?”
“Yes.”
“How detailed?”
“Enough to know your father had worsening cardiac condition.”
Could be obtained improperly.
Potential privacy issues.
Then:
“Did Edwin ever say he wanted Dad dead?”
“No.”
Important.
“Did he celebrate worsening health?”
Lauren looked down.
“He said once: ‘When George is gone, Camila becomes manageable.’”
I felt nothing.
Again.
Then Lauren said:
“He didn’t hate your father because of money.”
“Then?”
“He was afraid of him.”
“Why?”
“George knew Crestview wasn’t built from nothing.”
Dad invested.
“Yes.”
“He also knew original founder.”
“What original founder?”
I frowned.
Edwin claimed founder.
Lauren slid old incorporation document.
Crestview’s predecessor:
Horizon Build Systems.
Founder:
Marcus Bell.
I didn’t know name.
Edwin joined as operations director.
Later acquired company after Marcus resigned.
Why?
Official story:
health and burnout.
Reality?
Lauren said:
“Marcus accused Edwin of diverting projects.”
History repeating.
Where is Marcus?
Arizona.
Alive.
Dad apparently knew him.
Dad’s first investment was actually in Marcus’s company, not Edwin.
When Edwin took over, Dad kept financing partly to protect existing investment and employees.
Then old dispute sealed.
Why?
Settlement agreement.
Marcus received payout.
No admission.
But Dad never fully trusted Edwin afterward.
Then Lauren disclosed biggest detail.
Victor Hale found Marcus last year.
Interviewed him.
Marcus claimed Edwin forged documents during acquisition.
If true, Edwin’s ownership stake could be challenged? Twenty years? Statutes, settlements. Not simple.
But reputation.
Board.
Financing.
Dad wanted investigate.
Edwin wanted stop.
Then:
“Did Edwin use my fake company to pay Victor?”
“Yes.”
There.
Not just Lauren.
Camila Stanford Consulting funded surveillance against my own father.
Money entering under supposed services by me, then leaving to investigator watching Dad.
If exposed, records could make it appear I commissioned him.
The setup was elegant.
Terrible.
Then Lauren looked at me.
“Camila, there’s something you need to understand.”
“I understand plenty.”
“No. Edwin didn’t choose your name only because it protected him.”
“Why else?”
“Because if George discovered Victor, Edwin planned to say you hired him.”
My mouth went dry.
“Why would I investigate my father?”
“To prove he was mentally declining and protect your inheritance.”
I almost laughed.
They had a story for everything.
Then Lauren produced draft memo Victor prepared:
Client: Camila Stanford Mercer
Purpose: Family succession risk assessment regarding George Stanford.
Fake.
Unsigned.
But ready.
If Dad confronted.
Then:
“Why keep this?”
“Insurance.”
Against Edwin.
Everyone around him had insurance.
No trust.
Only leverage.
Then Lauren said:
“He asked me to marry him.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
While still married.
“What did you say?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because by then I knew what he did with your identity.”
Finally one line.
Not morality about affair.
Fear.
“What happened?”
“He started moving work away from Westlake.”
Retaliation.
Then Victor kept working for her independently because she feared Edwin.
“Where are Victor’s full files?”
Lauren looked at attorney.
Then answered:
“In a safe in Westlake office.”
Legal team preserved.
Inside, later, investigators found reports.
Photos.
Bank maps.
Health notes.
And one recorded meeting? California consent issues. Victor could have lawfully recorded if meeting in Nevada? Avoid. Better contemporaneous notes.
One note from conversation between Edwin and Beverly:
If Camila refuses waiver after George dies, isolate her from Wayne until funeral is over.
My father died unexpectedly.
Edwin locked door within minutes.
Was he trying to isolate me from Wayne?
Maybe humiliation was not random.
Maybe he intended delay.
Then another note:
Beverly: grief makes her compliant.
May you like
My mother-in-law had anticipated using my father’s death against me.
And I had spent five years calling her “Mom.”
