Chapter 8 - The Unexpected Ally
Three days after the botched confrontation on my porch, I received an unexpected phone call from an unknown local number.
Usually, I ignored calls from unfamiliar numbers, but something prompted me to swipe answer.
“Hello?” I said cautiously.
“Clara? Clara Vance?” a soft, hesitant voice asked on the other end.
“Yes? Who is this?”
“My name is Sarah. Sarah Jenkins.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. There was a brief pause on the line, punctuated by a deep, shaky sigh.
“I don’t know if you remember me,” Sarah continued, her voice trembling slightly. “I was at your birthday party two weeks ago. I’m a distant cousin of Jason’s on his mother’s side... I brought the artisanal charcuterie board.”
“Oh,” I said, my guard instantly going up. “Yes, Sarah. I remember you. Why are you calling me?”
“I’m calling because I need to apologize to you,” Sarah whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “And because I think you need to know something.”
I gripped my phone tighter. “Go on.”
“What Megan did to you at that party... it was horrific. The way everyone just stood there, and the way Jason treated you afterwards... it made me sick to my stomach,” Sarah confessed, tears clearly evident in her voice. “I left early that night. And over the last two weeks, hearing Eleanor and Megan gloat about how they’re going to destroy you in court, how they’re spreading awful lies about you through the entire family... I couldn't stay silent anymore.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Sarah?” I asked gently.
“It’s about Jason’s finances, and Megan’s boutique,” Sarah said quickly, lowering her voice as if someone might be listening in the room with her. “Jason didn’t just start embezzling money recently to fund Megan’s shop. Megan blackmailed him into it over a year ago.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Blackmailed him? About what?”
“I wasn't supposed to know, but I overheard Eleanor and Megan arguing in the kitchen a few months back,” Sarah explained urgently. “Years ago, before you and Jason met, Jason was involved in a major financial fraud scheme at his previous firm—something to do with client accounts and insider trading. He managed to cover his tracks and walk away clean, but Megan found the physical paperwork stashed in an old family storage unit. She used it to force him to fund her lifestyle, her apartment, and her failing boutique. Every time Jason tried to say no, Megan threatened to hand the proof over to federal authorities.”
A cold stillness settled over the room. Everything suddenly clicked into place—the strange hold Megan had over Jason, his constant anxiety, and why he was so easily corrupted. He wasn't just a corrupt executive; he was a lifelong criminal being squeezed by an even more ruthless sibling.
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“Sarah,” I said, my voice dead serious. “Do you have any proof of this conversation? Any texts, emails, or recordings?”
“I have voice memos on my phone,” Sarah whispered. “Eleanor and Megan were screaming in the living room last week, and I recorded parts of it out of fear. I want to give them to you, Clara. Use them however you need to. I’m done protecting monsters.”
