Chapter 18
Finally Carter entered.
“You should see this before someone calls you about it.”
He placed a tablet on the desk.
A paused video filled the screen.
Harrison stood outside the hotel entrance beside Khloe.
She was still wearing her wedding dress beneath a white coat.
His hand rested at her waist.
Reporters surrounded the barricade.
I did not press play.
“Do I need to?”
“Yes.”
Something in his voice made my stomach tighten.
I touched the screen.
The video began.
Camera flashes lit Harrison’s face.
He looked tired but pleased.
Khloe smiled beside him.
Someone called, “Mr.
Cole, congratulations.”
Harrison nodded.
“Thank you.”
Another reporter asked about their honeymoon.
Khloe laughed.
Then a male voice rose above the others.
“Mr.
Cole, were you aware of the financial reports released about your ex-wife?”
Harrison’s smile changed.
Only slightly.
But I knew him.
I saw the muscles in his jaw tighten.
He kept walking.
Another question came.
“Did you know Caroline Vance is the controlling owner behind Vance Global Holdings?”
Harrison stopped.
Khloe looked at him.
A security guard motioned them toward the waiting car.
Then the reporter asked the question that would follow Harrison across the internet before the night was over.
“Did you know your ex-wife controls major stakes in thirty global listed companies valued at more than ten billion dollars?”
Harrison turned.
For three seconds, he said nothing.
Three seconds was all the world needed.
His face lost color.
He looked at the reporter as though he had misheard.
“What?”
The reporter stepped closer to the barrier.
“Public filings identify Caroline Vance as the ultimate controlling shareholder of Vance Global Holdings.”
Another voice shouted, “Did you know that when you divorced?”
Khloe’s smile vanished.
Harrison looked toward her.
Then back at the cameras.
“I’m not discussing my ex-wife.”
He reached for the car door.
The first reporter called again.
“Is it true you received the marital home while Ms.
Vance retained her corporate holdings?”
Harrison stopped again.
Khloe whispered something I could not hear.
The reporter pushed.
“Mr.
Cole, did you know her estimated holdings exceeded ten billion dollars?”
Harrison’s answer came out sharper.
“She never told me that.”
My hand froze on the tablet.
The reporters erupted.
“She never told you?”
“Are you saying financial assets were concealed?”
“Will you challenge the divorce settlement?”
“Did your attorney review her disclosures?”
“Mr.
Cole, are you alleging fraud?”
Harrison realized too late what he had done.