Chapter 8 - WHAT NATHANIEL KNEW
Nathaniel’s first strategy was simple. Blame Sabrina.
He called her manipulative. Ambitious. Greedy.
He said she had exploited his affection.
Jasper listened with disgust because the man describing Sabrina as dangerous was the same man who had kissed her in front of three hundred guests and told everyone she was replacing Adeline.
Then the messages emerged.
Nathaniel knew about the bridge loans.
He knew about Croft Strategic.
He knew about West Harbor.
He knew about the token reset.
He did not know everything Sabrina had done.
But he knew far more than he admitted at the gala.
Then he confessed to the part that mattered most.
He had used foundation-related bridge loans to keep an Albright luxury-development project alive while waiting for private refinancing. Why?
If the project defaulted, his private company could lose control of three flagship properties.
He told himself the foundation was earning interest while supporting community infrastructure.
That was partly true.
He also failed to disclose the full related-party exposure. Why?
Because Adeline would object. There.
Nathaniel said it plainly in deposition.
“I knew she would slow it down.” The lawyer asked:
“Was slowing it down the same thing as refusing?” “No.”
“Then why did you treat it that way?”
Nathaniel stared at the table.
“I thought I could repay everything before it mattered.”
There it was again. Later. Fix it later. Explain it later. Disclose it later.
Then he admitted another fact.
He had given Sabrina Adeline’s wedding ring.
He said the marriage was over in everything but paperwork. It was not.
He denied giving Sabrina the heirloom bracelet.
That detail mattered because it meant Sabrina had taken at least one thing on her own.
Then Jasper asked his father privately, through counsel, one question.
“Did you know Mom was drugged?” Nathaniel looked devastated. “No.”
Jasper believed the fear in his face.
Belief was not proof.
The drugging investigation remained open. Then Nathaniel added:
“I thought she took the sedative herself because she was panicking about the gala.”
Adeline heard that later.
It hurt almost as much as the affair.
Even when she was unconscious, Nathaniel’s first explanation had been that her instability caused the problem.
Not that something had happened to her.
Then the auditors produced one more transfer Nathaniel had approved but never told the board. Twelve million dollars.
The same one carrying Adeline’s token.
Nathaniel admitted he had ordered the token reset.
He still insisted Adeline had verbally agreed.
Adeline said she had not.
There was no recording. No witness.
The financial investigation could prove the approval process failed.
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It could not prove which spouse was lying about a private conversation. That ambiguity remained.
And for once, Jasper learned to live with not knowing.
