Chapter 4 - The Woman He Lied To
The guests left quickly.
Skye didn’t.
Neither did Meredith.
Grant paced the dining room.
“You staged this.”
I almost admired the accusation.
“I came home and found your mistress wearing your shirt in my nursery.”
“You don’t understand the situation.”
Skye laughed bitterly.
“Then explain it.”
Grant turned.
“Stay out of this.”
“You told me you loved me.”
Meredith grabbed Skye’s arm.
“Go upstairs.”
Skye pulled away.
“No.”
That one word changed everything.
She looked at me.
“He told me you had an arrangement.”
“We didn’t.”
“He said you couldn’t have children and didn’t want them anymore.”
My throat tightened.
But I kept my voice steady.
“That was also a lie.”
Skye covered her mouth.
Grant stepped toward me.
“Evelyn, we should discuss this privately.”
“No.”
“You’re my wife.”
“For the moment.”
Meredith laughed.
“You think you can just destroy this family?”
I turned toward her.
“You stole fourteen point eight million dollars.”
Her face emptied.
Grant stopped moving.
Skye whispered, “What?”
Meredith recovered.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Northstar Advisory Holdings.”
Silence.
“Should I continue?”
Grant looked at his sister.
“You told me Northstar belonged to consultants.”
Meredith stared at him.
I watched something fascinating happen.
The conspiracy began eating itself.
“You signed the transfers,” Meredith snapped.
“Because you told me—”
“You knew exactly what it was!”
Skye backed away from both of them.
I looked at Grant.
“Congratulations. Your mistress just discovered you’re married, and you just discovered your sister may have been stealing from the company you were stealing from.”
Grant pointed at me.
“Don’t pretend you’re innocent.”
That surprised me.
“Excuse me?”
“You controlled everything. The money. The houses. The board. Your father.”
“And that forced you into Skye’s bed?”
His mouth closed.
Skye suddenly spoke.
“There’s something else.”
Grant turned sharply.
“Don’t.”
She looked frightened now.
Not of me.
Of him.
“What?”
Skye reached for her handbag.
Grant moved toward her.
I stepped between them.
“Stay where you are.”
He laughed.
“What are you going to do?”
The front door opened.
Marcus entered with two Hartwell security officers.
Grant’s expression changed.
I answered.
“That.”
Skye pulled an envelope from her handbag.
“Grant asked me to sign this last week.”
Rebecca, who had been waiting downstairs, entered behind security.
She took the papers.
Read the first page.
Then looked at Grant.
“What is it?” I asked.
Rebecca handed it to me.
It was an agreement concerning a future child.
Skye’s future child.
But buried in the language was something else.
If Skye became pregnant, Grant intended to establish a trust funded with assets he claimed belonged to him through our marriage.
Assets worth hundreds of millions.
Rebecca looked at Skye.
“Did you understand this document?”
“No.”
“Did you sign it?”
“No.”
Grant interrupted.
“This proves nothing.”
Rebecca smiled slightly.
“You’re correct.”
Then she removed another document from her briefcase.
“But the bank records do.”
Grant stared at her.
“What bank records?”
“The ones showing money transferred from Hartwell-controlled entities into Northstar.”
Meredith looked toward the door.
Security stepped closer.
Nobody touched her.
Nobody needed to.
Grant finally looked at me.
“What do you want?”
I looked around the dining room where I had spent years pretending his family loved me.
Then I answered.
“A divorce.”
His expression relaxed.
For one second, he actually looked relieved.
Then I continued.
May you like
“And every dollar returned.”
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