Chapter 13 What He Plans to Say
The digital audio file sat open on Lena’s laptop screen, its sound waves showing as sharp blue peaks against the dark background.
Joan stood beside the desk, her fingers resting lightly on the cool wood. Outside her studio apartment, the afternoon sky was turning gray over the city streets. Inside, the quiet was heavy, broken only by the hum of the computer.
"Are you sure you want to play it again?" Lena asked, her hand hovering over the mouse. "You’ve already reviewed it once, Joan. You don't have to put yourself through it a second time."
"Play it." Joan’s voice did not waver. "I need his exact words. I cannot give him doubt he has not earned."
Lena clicked the start button.
Static hissed from the speakers, followed by Reiner’s unmistakable voice, tired and bitter beneath the alcohol.
"Joan chose him," Reiner’s voice said on the tape, echoing off the bare walls. "I choose both of you."
The short clip ended, leaving a sharp silence behind.
Joan did not cry. She had already grieved in the hotel corridor and again while packing the home she had built with him. Now his recorded choice hardened the pain into certainty.
"My sisters built the trap," Joan said. "They did not force those words from his mouth or make him choose them. That part belongs to Reiner."
"It is unequivocal proof of his betrayal," Lena said, closing the audio software. "The board won't be able to ignore it. Neither will the press."
"Should we call Reiner's private lawyer?" Lena asked. "If we send him the audio and Macey’s confession, he will be forced to cancel the launch and confront this before anyone reaches the island."
"No," Joan answered immediately, shaking her head. "We aren't warning him."
Lena blinked, surprised. "Joan, if we don't warn him, he is going to walk right into that public dinner and say terrible things about you in front of hundreds of people."
"He is already planning to say those things," Joan replied.
"If we warn him now, he will call his public-relations firm, hire lawyers to contain the truth, and move Annabelle and Macey out of sight before anyone understands what happened.
He will protect the Loft International name before he protects mine. "
Joan walked over to the window, watching the traffic below.
"For twelve years, I let Reiner control every damaging story," Joan said.
"When my sisters exploited us, he buried it.
After the miscarriage, he wanted normality because scandal might hurt the company.
I am done allowing corporate statements to replace my truth.
He made this choice in private. He can answer for it in public. "
Lena studied her for a moment, then nodded. "You’re right. For weeks, he has prioritized damage control over your truth. You deserve to control how this ends."
"What do we know about his speech?" Joan asked, turning back around.
"My contact inside the PR office sent me a draft of what Reiner plans to deliver at the opening dinner on Loft Haven," Lena said, pulling up a text document on her screen. "It’s bad, Joan."
Joan stepped closer to read the document.
The draft speech was written carefully, designed to sound tragic yet noble.
In the speech, Reiner planned to tell the room of investors, board members, and international journalists that his marriage had suffered an 'irreparable private betrayal'.
He planned to state that Joan had stepped away from the company after engaging in financial misconduct and pursuing a private relationship with his business rival, Graham Voss.
Then, the speech went even further.
Reiner intended to introduce Macey and Annabelle as the two women who had stood by his side during his darkest personal trial. He was going to ask the public and the hospitality industry to respect his decision to move forward in a committed, nontraditional relationship with both sisters.
"He really thinks he is being brave," Joan said with a short, humorless laugh. "He thinks he’s framing this as a tragic romance where my sisters saved him from his terrible, unfaithful wife."
"Macey is thrilled about it," Lena added, checking her private updates from the penthouse staff. "She spent the morning shopping for a gown that matches the island's theme. She genuinely believes this speech proves Reiner loves her and wants the world to see her as his partner."
"And Annabelle?" Joan asked.
"Annabelle doesn't care about the romance in the speech," Lena replied.
"She cares that the speech publicly ties her and Macey to Reiner's fortune. Once Reiner legitimizes them in front of the press, it will be much harder for the board to remove them from executive roles without causing a major public scandal. Annabelle thinks she’s securing permanent access to Loft International. "
"They are walking into the future they designed," Joan said. "They do not realize the foundation beneath it is already gone."
"How do you want to organize our evidence for the launch event?" Lena asked, opening a new file folder. "We have a lot of material. If we overwhelm the board with too many details, it might get confusing."
"We keep it simple, clear, and impossible to deny," Joan directed, pulling a notepad toward herself. "No drama, no shouting, and no long explanations. We only use hard, verified facts."
Together, Joan and Lena organized the authenticated evidence into a concise presentation: the toxicology report, the access logs, the genuine and forged discharge papers, both confession recordings, and Reiner’s own recorded choice.
"It’s a complete case," Lena said, saving the final file onto a secure encrypted drive. "There is no way for Annabelle to blame a glitch, no way for Macey to claim she was framed, and no way for Reiner to say he was purely an innocent victim."
"Good," Joan said. She closed her notepad.
Four days later, dawn broke over Nadi, Fiji. Joan and Lena had arrived separately from the official guest party and spent the night near Denarau Marina under the protection of the joint investigative team.
The Loft Haven press preview and soft launch was underway.
At Denarau Marina, the grand ferry The Sovereign waited to carry guests forty miles across the South Pacific.
Its white hull gleamed beside the pier as investors, directors, resort reviewers, and international journalists followed the blue carpet toward the upper deck.
Reiner stood near the top of the ramp, greeting arriving guests. He wore a sharp black tuxedo, though his face looked slightly pale and tired despite his polite smile. Beside him stood Macey and Annabelle.
The twins wore matching silk gowns cut to mimic Joan’s restrained elegance. Macey kept one hand on Reiner’s arm for the cameras, while Annabelle held an executive tablet and greeted directors as though she had belonged beside him for years.
"Everything is set, Reiner," Annabelle said, stepping closer to him as another group of investors walked past. "The media team has the advance copies of your opening dinner speech. The press is very curious about your announcement."
"Are you sure we should do this today?" Reiner asked, looking across the water. "The board is already nervous about Joan’s absence. Announcing our relationship during the soft launch could eclipse the resort."
"It’s the best time, Reiner," Macey chimed in, taking his hand and squeezing it affectionately. "If you announce it today, you show strength. You show the world that Joan didn't destroy you. You show everyone that we are a united family moving forward together. You promised us, remember?"
Reiner looked down at Macey’s eager face, then at Annabelle’s calm, confident expression. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes. I promised."
He believed he was doing the right thing. He believed Joan had chosen Graham Voss, that she had discarded their marriage, and that her sisters were the only ones keeping him grounded. It was a lie that protected his pride, and he held onto it tightly.
At the secured entrance to Denarau Marina, a black town car pulled up to the gatehouse.
The security guard on duty stepped out holding a clipboard. "Private event, ma'am. This dock is reserved for Loft International launch guests only."
The town car’s rear window lowered.
Joan sat inside in a tailored navy suit, her hair pulled back and her posture composed. Lena sat beside her with the presentation materials in a slim leather briefcase.
Joan reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out her gold-embossed executive pass, and held it out the window.
The guard looked at the pass, then checked his digital screen. "Mrs. Loft... your name has an administrative flag on the daily passenger list. Mr. Loft placed you on temporary leave."
"I am on administrative leave from daily office operations," Joan said, her voice clear, calm, and commanding.
"However, I am the co-founder of this company, a permanent member of the board of directors, and a major shareholder.
Under Article Four of the corporate charter, no executive officer has the legal authority to block a board member from attending an official resort launch. "
Lena leaned toward the window, handing the guard an official legal document. "If you attempt to block Chief Creative Officer Joan Loft from boarding this vessel, you and Loft International will be served with an immediate legal injunction before the boat leaves the pier."
The guard studied the injunction, then Joan. He knew who had designed Loft Haven and built its identity.
The guard stepped back and typed a quick override code into his handheld screen. The heavy metal gate swung open.
"Welcome aboard, Mrs. Loft," the guard said, stepping back to salute her politely.
"Thank you," Joan said.
The black car drove smoothly through the gate and stopped right at the walkway leading to the ferry.
Lena turned to look at Joan as the driver opened their doors. "This is it, Joan. Once we get on that boat and reach the island, there is no turning back."
Joan stepped out of the car and stood tall under the bright morning sun. She looked up at the massive private boat, at the crowds of people laughing on the upper deck, and at the distant figure of her husband standing between her twin sisters.
Fear had no place left in her.
"I don't want to turn back," Joan said, adjusting her jacket.
She stepped onto the walkway, her heels clicking firmly against the wooden planking as she boarded the boat under her own legal authority, ready to face the husband and sisters who had tried to erase her.