Chapter 3 - WHAT ALLISON KNEW
Allison Reed did not disappear.
Catherine almost wished she had.
Instead, Allison hired a lawyer.
That was smart.
Then she stopped contacting Catherine.
Also smart.
The first real account of Allison’s role came through document production and a civil mediation three months later.
By then, Jason had been arrested on charges tied to:
forged commercial documents,
unauthorized account access,
and attempted theft from Bennett Studio.
Not every charge prosecutors considered was filed.
Good.
Evidence first.
Then Allison.
Arc & Row was real enough to have:
a bank account,
a website,
a rented sample room,
three small vendor contracts,
and one assistant.
Not pure shell.
Allison had worked in luxury procurement for years.
She wanted her own company.
Jason helped finance it.
That was not automatically criminal.
Then the money.
She knew $60,000 came from Jason.
She claimed he told her it was his share of marital savings.
Could she know Catherine had not agreed?
Probably.
Prove?
Harder.
Then forged Bennett guarantee.
Allison’s email said:
Jason says Catherine is finally on board. She hates finance paperwork so he is handling signature logistics.
Bad.
But not proof she knew forgery.
Then another email:
Do we really need Cat to sign again? You said she never looks at this stuff.
Worse.
Still ambiguous.
Then message after Rinaldi compliance asked for direct confirmation:
Why are they calling her? I thought this was handled.
There.
Allison knew Catherine was not supposed to be directly involved?
Maybe.
Then Jason replied:
Stop panicking. She will sign whatever I put in front of her once the divorce is ready.
That was strong against Jason.
Against Allison:
she replied with a thumbs-up.
Ugly.
But not enough by itself to prove she joined forgery.
Then Allison’s affair.
Started nine months earlier.
Arc & Row formed ten months earlier.
Business and affair overlapped.
Catherine hated the timeline.
Not legally important.
Emotionally vicious.
Then Allison’s statement through counsel:
Jason told her marriage was effectively over.
He said Catherine knew about Allison.
He said financial separation had begun.
False.
Did Allison believe?
At first perhaps.
Later?
Less plausible.
Then Catherine remembered dinners.
Allison sitting in Catherine’s home.
drinking Catherine’s wine.
asking about studio projects.
That mattered personally.
Not criminally.
Need separation.
Then mediation.
Catherine did not have to attend.
She chose to.
Daniel beside her.
civil counsel across.
Allison and lawyer opposite.
No Jason.
His criminal case separate.
Allison looked smaller than at restaurant.
No lipstick.
Catherine hated noticing.
Then Allison said:
“I am sorry.”
Catherine raised hand.
“No.”
Clean.
Then:
“You can answer questions. I am not here for an apology.”
Allison’s mouth closed.
Good.
Then financial questions.
Did Allison know Jason had no ownership in Bennett Studio?
“Yes.”
Did she know Catherine had not agreed to guarantee Arc & Row?
“I believed Jason had authority to obtain it.”
“That was not the question.”
Her lawyer intervened.
Good.
Then:
“Did you ever speak to Catherine about it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Allison looked down.
“Because Jason said you would say no before you understood the opportunity.”
There.
Catherine’s body went cold.
There it was again.
No as obstacle.
Then:
“And you accepted that?”
“Yes.”
Good.
Responsibility.
Then Allison admitted she gave Jason access to her Arc & Row banking credentials.
He moved some funds.
She did not track all.
Bad governance.
Then one transfer:
$18,000 from Arc & Row to a personal account paying for a Paris trip with Jason.
Business expense labeled:
vendor research.
Potential tax issue.
Her problem.
Then civil resolution.
Allison agreed to return:
the $60,000 joint funds she had received,
plus documented benefits traceable to Catherine’s money.
Not every gift Jason ever gave.
Specific.
No NDA preventing Catherine from discussing her own experience.
Allison kept legitimate Arc & Row business assets after separating from Jason.
She was not banned from life.
Good.
Criminal prosecutors later declined to charge Allison with the guarantee forgery because evidence did not establish beyond reasonable doubt that she knew Jason had fabricated Catherine’s signature.
They did investigate tax/business expense issues separately.
A tax adjustment and civil penalty followed.
No prison for being the mistress.
Good.
Catherine did not forgive her.
No requirement.
Then Jason’s case deepened.
Forensic review showed he had created:
the fake Bennett Studio email domain,
mailbox rules in Catherine’s account,
the forged board consent,
and the guarantee signature.
Device logs linked to his laptop.
Strong.
Then the studio draw attempts.
Jason used copied credentials but failed because Mei’s approval was required.
Bank logs.
Strong.
Then grandmother’s apartment.
Jason had drafted an affidavit claiming premarital investment.
No filing yet.
He had collected:
renovation receipts,
photos,
and one check he wrote for furniture years after inheritance.
He planned argument.
Not yet fraud until used.
Still relevant to intent.
Then the $20,000 withdrawals Catherine had questioned months earlier.
Jason had told her:
tax planning.
False.
Arc & Row.
Then Daniel found more:
Jason had borrowed $300,000 from Mercer Street Credit.
High-interest private lender.
He represented expected consulting fees and Arc & Row contract proceeds.
No Catherine guarantee there.
But he had attached her inherited apartment statement as “household net worth.”
Was that criminal?
Potential misrepresentation.
But lender did not have lien.
No direct theft.
Then Mercer Street.
Owner:
Dante Mercer.
Connected to Rinaldi?
Competitor, sometimes partner.
Not Gabriel’s company.
Good.
No giant conspiracy.
Then Jason’s motive became clearer.
Debt.
Affair.
business gamble.
desire to launch Arc & Row.
belief he could take a portion of Catherine’s assets in divorce.
need for liquidity.
Not mastermind plan to destroy her life.
Greedy.
entitled.
calculated.
Enough.
Then one message to Allison:
Once Cat signs the settlement, the apartment issue gives me leverage and the studio becomes negotiable.
There.
He expected pressure.
Not legal certainty.
Then Catherine read it.
No tears.
Just fatigue.
Daniel said:
“You do not need to read every message.”
“I know.”
Then she stopped.
Good.
Victims do not need total surveillance of betrayal to prove it happened.
Then Gabriel.
He remained in background.
His compliance file became part of Jason prosecution.
One analyst testified later about failed verification.
Not Gabriel.
Good.
Then Rinaldi Group independent review found an internal issue:
one executive had known Jason had undisclosed ties to Arc & Row and kept the vendor in process because Jason promised access to favorable financing.
Executive suspended.
Then terminated after review.
No bribe? Maybe internal conflict.
Then broader review.
Gabriel had ordered it.
What did it find about him?
Something Catherine learned from public report.
Rinaldi Hospitality had used aggressive vendor practices:
exclusive supplier lists,
lease pressure,
and “relationship consequences” when vendors refused terms.
Some lawful.
some not.
One email from Gabriel:
If Calder keeps blocking the dock package, make sure none of our hotels need him next quarter.
There.
Commercial retaliation.
Catherine read it twice.
He was not Jason.
But he knew how to narrow choices too.
Different room.
same mechanism.
Then Daniel asked:
“Do you still think he is handsome?”
Catherine stared.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“So yes.”
She threw a paper clip at him.
Good.
Then Gabriel called through counsel about scheduling a deposition.
Catherine participated as fact witness only about the alley and documents she had.
Afterward, Gabriel waited until lawyers finished.
Then asked:
“Can I speak to you?”
Daniel looked at Catherine.
Her choice.
“Yes.”
Public conference room.
Door open.
Good.
Gabriel said:
“I read the review.”
“So did I.”
Then:
“You did that.”
“Yes.”
No:
executives misunderstood.
Then:
“Why?”
He thought.
“Because I believed commercial pressure was clean if nobody threatened violence.”
There.
Catherine felt a cold recognition.
Jason believed emotional pressure was not abuse because he rarely shouted.
Same logic family.
Then Gabriel said:
“I was wrong.”
“Are you changing it?”
“Yes.”
“Because of me?”
“No.”
Good.
Then:
board changes,
vendor complaint channel,
separation of procurement from leasing,
no retaliatory cross-business exclusion without independent review.
Useful.
Then Catherine asked:
“Will anyone charge you?”
“Possibly.”
Honest.
Then:
“Do you expect me to feel sorry?”
“No.”
Good.
Then he looked at her green dress? Months later different clothes. No.
He said:
“I also wanted to tell you the suit survived.”
Catherine blinked.
“The coffee.”
She laughed.
First real laugh with him.
Then:
“Tragic.”
“Very.”
He smiled.
And for one second, Catherine understood why dangerous men sometimes looked less dangerous when they stopped asking the room to fear them.
That did not make Gabriel safe.
It made him interesting.
There was a difference.
Catherine also learned something unpleasant about the forged verification call.
The woman who had pretended to be Catherine was not Allison.
Voice comparison and call routing pointed instead to a temporary assistant at Jason’s consulting firm.
Her name was Rachel Dunn.
Twenty-four.
newly hired.
no criminal record.
Investigators interviewed her.
Rachel admitted Jason gave her a script and said Catherine had already approved the deal but was too busy to repeat information.
Rachel asked:
“Is this legal?”
Jason replied:
“It is verification theater. Everyone does it.”
She made the call.
Responsibility remained.
Context mattered.
Rachel cooperated early.
received lesser consequences in a deferred-prosecution arrangement and lost her job.
Catherine did not ask prosecutors to ruin her.
Then Daniel said:
“People like Jason rarely do every step themselves.”
There.
Catherine thought of the restaurant.
Jason had wanted:
Allison beside him,
lawyer papers in front of him,
Catherine emotional,
the room quiet.
He liked systems that made his choices feel inevitable.
That was the pattern.
May you like
Not genius.
Architecture.
