Diana Castellano received the information three days after Ryan Ward made first contact with Roxanne.She was in her quiet office when her assistant walked in. Closed the door. Looked nervous."I found something you need to know about." The assistant said. "Your mother hired someone."Diana looked up from her computer. "Hired someone for what?""To target Roxanne Murillo." The assistant said. “A private investigator by the name Ryan Ward. He is acting like a man by the name Matthew Collins.”Diana's stomach dropped. "What's his objective?""To get close to her. Make compromising photographs. Get it to appear like she is cheating on Robert Jackson.” The assistant explained.Diana experienced something she never expected. Disgust mixed with anger."How do you know this?" Diana asked.“I still have connections in the office of your mother.” The assistant said. "They owe me favors. One of them saw the contract. Heard the phone calls.""Thank you." Diana said quietly. "You can go."The ass

All night Dave Morrison had been searching Matthew Collins. Coffee kept him awake. Determination kept him focused.He began with simple searches. Matthew Collins. Marketing professional. New to the city.Dozens of results appeared. Not one of them matches what Roxanne had described Robert.Dave narrowed the parameters. Recent apartment leases. New gym memberships in the location of Roxanne.He located a Matthew Collins who had registered himself two weeks prior. Same gym. Same timeframe.Dave dug deeper. Checked the employment claim. Name of marketing firm is Bridges and Associates.He approached them early in the morning. “Is there an employee by the name Matthew Collins?”"No, sir." The receptionist said after checking. "No one by that name works here."Red flag number one.Dave examined the lease of the apartment next. Paid six months in advance. Cash. No credit check.Red flag number two.Social media accounts. All created three months ago. Minimal posts. Generic content. Few conn

The lawyer of Victoria James Cartwright was working through the night. Before morning he had discovered something.A procedural error. Technical. Small. But also possibly case-breaking.The FBI warrant that had authorized monitoring of Ryan ward was too wide. It contained items that were not listed specially in the probable cause affidavit.Some of the recordings of Victoria's conversations with Ryan had been captured through this overly broad warrant.Cartwright applied an emergency motion to suppress. Cited precedent. Fourth Amendment violations alleged.The hearing was to take place the following afternoon.Cartwright was brilliant in his case. "The government overreached. Cast too wide a net. Violated the constitutional rights of my client.”The courtroom had Agent Chen seated in it. Visibly frustrated. The prosecutor attempted to prove that the recordings still could be accepted under different theories.However, the judge was not persuaded.The warrant was actually too broad. Th

The news broke on a Tuesday.It wasn't front-page coverage. Not yet. One of the financial trade publications carried a three-paragraph story in its midday rounding “Castellano Group reports sudden loss in joint real estate venture. Sources mention abrupt withdrawal of co-investor.”That co-investor was Diana.She had withdrawn gracefully from the Harrington Tower development project, silently and at just the inopportune time when Victoria had her quarterly figures to meet. Not illegal. Not dramatic. Just expensive. It was an action of such a nature that did not need explaining and could not be easily reversed.Victoria read what was there, at her desk, and said nothing.By Thursday, she had made her own move.She made a call to a contact within the Financial Conduct Commission a man by the name of Horton who three years ago had an outstanding favour to pay Victoria. She maintained a short dialogue. Provided him with the outline of a complaint about some of the investment decisions tak

The next time they saw each other was four days later.At the apartment of Victoria. The first floor of the building where there was no foot traffic in the lobby and the concierge who had signed a non-disclosure agreement the first day was there. Diana came with no assistant and a leather folder.Victoria had coffee ready, and papers on the dining table. Not digital. Paper. Harder to trace.They worked for three hours without stopping.Victoria came with the monetary constructs about the debt exposure of Zenco, the quarterly cycles where Robert was most exposed to the pressure of investors, the legal strands which were technically alive but still dormant. She has a forensic understanding of his company that was more than several levels into secrecy. This file was accumulated by her over several months prior to the time when she ever made a move against him.Diana came with something different.She brought Robert.Not the company. The man. She discussed with her how he made decisions u