Chapter 9 - The Donor Files
Dominic sat behind his father's desk and looked ten years older.
"The foundation keeps donor profiles," he said.
Naomi waited.
"Every major nonprofit does. Giving history. Interests. Family connections."
"That's not what Victor meant."
"No."
Dominic rubbed both hands over his face.
"Vanessa built something she called relationship intelligence. She said it would make fundraising more efficient."
"What was in it?"
"Personal preferences. Marriages. Divorces. Business disputes. Things people told us at dinners."
Naomi's stomach tightened.
"Secrets."
"I told her to keep it legal."
"That's not an answer."
"I didn't review the system."
"Because it worked."
Dominic looked up.
That hurt because it was true.
Donations had risen thirty-two percent in one year.
Vanessa remembered every spouse, every fear, every private ambition.
People called her brilliant.
Naomi called it collection.
"Mara objected?"
"She said Vanessa was crossing ethical lines. Then she accused Martin of reimbursing private investigators through vendor accounts."
"Did you investigate?"
Dominic's silence was answer enough.
"Why not?"
"Because two days later Mara overdosed. My mother said the accusations were part of a breakdown."
Naomi stood.
"We're going to Connecticut."
"Now?"
"Before somebody tells Mara we're coming."
The recovery center sat behind stone walls and maple trees three hours away.
Mara Reed was thirty-seven and looked nothing like the unstable woman described in Vanessa's press leaks.
She looked tired.
Careful.
And furious.
When Dominic entered, she turned her chair toward the window.
"You took your time."
"Mara—"
"Don't."
Naomi sat across from her.
"I'm Naomi Carter."
Mara looked at the bruise on Naomi's side.
"I saw the video."
"Then you know why we're here."
"You're here because Vanessa finally did something to someone who could stop her."
Naomi shook her head.
"I'm here because you tried first."
That changed Mara's face.
She opened a drawer beside her chair and removed a small notebook.
Names filled every page.
Politicians.
Executives.
Doctors.
Donors.
Beside them were notes.
Affair.
Gambling.
Secret child.
Tax investigation.
Medication.
"Vanessa called it persuasion," Mara said. "I called it leverage."
Dominic looked sick.
"Did she blackmail people?"
"Not with direct threats. She's smarter than that. She'd mention something private and then ask for a favor. A donation. A board vote. A contract."
Naomi turned a page.
One name stopped her.
VICTOR SLOANE.
Beside it:
Price incident — report alteration / $240K consulting renewal.
Naomi's throat tightened.
Mara watched her.
"You know that name."
"Daniel Price was my partner."
Mara's face went pale.
"Then Vanessa didn't just find your old file."
Naomi looked up.
Mara tapped Victor's name.
"She bought the man who wrote it."
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