Chapter 6 - THE PAWN IN THE DIAMOND RING
Three days after the incident at the estate, a heavy rain fell over Greenwich.
I was sitting in the sunroom of the main house, going over property deeds with my grandfather's accountants, when the gate intercom chimed.
Marcus's voice came through the speaker: "Mrs. Monroe, there is a young woman at the gate. She says her name is Chloe Vance. She insists on speaking with you personally. She is alone."
I looked at my grandfather, who gave me a slight nod of approval. "Let her up, Marcus," I said into the microphone.
Ten minutes later, Chloe Vance walked into the sunroom.
The arrogant, polished debutante from the engagement party was gone. She wore simple dark jeans and a plain trench coat, her swollen, bloodshot eyes showing she hadn't slept in days. She carried a leather handbag and a small velvet box.
"Thank you for seeing me, Allison," Chloe said, her voice barely above a whisper. She stood awkwardly near the doorway, as if afraid to take up space.
"Sit down, Chloe," I said softly, pointing to the armchair across from me.
She sat down, placing the velvet box on the glass table between us. She pushed it toward me.
Inside lay the four-carat emerald-cut diamond engagement ring Derek had given her.
"I took it to a master jeweler in Manhattan yesterday," Chloe said, her voice trembling. "I wanted to return it to the trust if it was bought with your stolen money. The jeweler told me... he told me the center stone is a high-grade synthetic cubic zirconia. It's worth less than eight hundred dollars. The setting is silver-plated brass."
I stared at the sparkling piece of glass inside the box. A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. "He lied to you about the ring, too."
"He lied about everything," Chloe wept, burying her face in her hands. "He told my father he managed three hundred million dollars in assets. He told me his first wife was a wealthy European heiress who died in an avalanche in Switzerland. My father was two weeks away from transferring his entire real estate development fund into Derek's accounts. If you hadn't walked through those gates on Tuesday... he would have destroyed my family, too."
I looked at the young woman sitting across from me. I had every reason to hate her on Tuesday, but looking at her now, I realized she wasn't my enemy. She was just another target in Derek’s long line of victims.
"Did you know about me, Chloe?" I asked directly, my voice firm. "Deep down, did you ever suspect something was wrong?"
"He never let me see his phone," Chloe wiped her tears with a tissue. "He always took calls in another room. Whenever I asked about his past, his mother would jump in and change the subject. I was stupid, Allison. I was blinded by the lifestyle, the estate, the private jets he claimed to rent... I was so stupid."
"You weren't stupid," I said, sliding the velvet box back toward her. "You were targeted by a professional sociopath. But now you have a choice."
Chloe looked up, startled. "A choice?"
"Derek's defense lawyers are trying to claim that he was mentally unstable and that all the financial transfers were 'internal family loans,'" I explained, leaning forward. "The District Attorney needs strong witness testimony to ensure he doesn't get off with probation. I need you and your father to go to the police and file formal charges for attempted grand larceny and fraud."
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Chloe’s eyes hardened. The hesitation in her demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, fierce resolve.
"My father has already hired the best criminal prosecutors in the state," Chloe said, her voice steadying. "We aren't just filing charges, Allison. We're going to make sure Derek Monroe never sees the light of day."
