Chapter 3 - What Arthur Stole From His Wife
Clara stared at the documents spread across the table.
“That’s impossible.”
Evelyn pointed to the signature.
“Is this yours?”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
“And this?”
“No.”
Dominic stood silently behind them.
Evelyn continued.
“Arthur created a holding company using assets inherited from your grandmother.”
“My grandmother left me the Brooklyn building and her investment portfolio.”
“Correct.”
“I signed paperwork after we married. Arthur said it was for tax planning.”
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“You transferred control. Not ownership. But someone later forged additional documents.”
Clara leaned back.
“How much?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Approximately forty-two million dollars.”
Clara laughed once from pure disbelief.
“My husband publicly called me a charity case while stealing forty-two million dollars from me?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“Apparently.”
Clara looked toward him.
“You knew?”
“Not until last night.”
“And now?”
“Now you don’t need me to destroy Arthur.”
She looked back at the documents.
“He did it himself.”
Arthur chose a private dining room at a Midtown restaurant for their meeting.
Clara entered alone.
Arthur stood immediately.
“You look terrible.”
She took a seat.
“You wanted to talk.”
“You humiliated me.”
Clara stared at him.
Arthur continued.
“Leaving with Castillion made me look weak.”
“You kissed your mistress onstage.”
“Seraphina is useful.”
“Is that what I was?”
Arthur sighed.
“Clara, this emotional behavior is exactly why I couldn’t make you part of the business.”
“I never wanted your business.”
“Everything you have came from me.”
Clara slowly placed a document on the table.
Arthur saw it.
His face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“That’s an interesting reaction.”
Arthur reached for it.
Clara pulled it away.
“You forged my signature.”
“Careful.”
“You stole from me.”
“I managed assets you didn’t understand.”
“Forty-two million dollars?”
Arthur leaned forward.
“You think a girl who played violin in subway stations would know what to do with that kind of money?”
Clara’s expression went still.
“My grandmother earned it.”
“And you would have wasted it.”
“On what?”
“Music. Charities. Whatever sentimental nonsense you enjoy.”
Clara finally understood.
Arthur had never loved her simplicity.
He had despised it.
“You married me because of the inheritance.”
Arthur said nothing.
That silence answered everything.
Clara stood.
“We’re done.”
Arthur grabbed her wrist.
“You sit down.”
A voice came from behind him.
“She asked you once.”
Arthur released Clara immediately.
Dominic stood in the doorway.
Arthur exploded.
“You said alone!”
Clara calmly answered.
“I said I would come alone. I never said nobody else would enter later.”
Dominic’s mouth twitched.
Arthur pointed at him.
“You’re manipulating her.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“No. That’s what bothers you. Nobody is manipulating her anymore.”
Arthur turned toward Clara.
“If you file for divorce, I’ll bury you.”
Clara looked him directly in the eye.
“You already tried.”
“And your baby?”
Her hand moved protectively toward her stomach.
Arthur smiled.
“I have friends.”
Dominic took one step forward.
Clara raised a hand.
“No.”
Dominic stopped.
Clara faced Arthur again.
“You threatened me because you believed I was afraid of losing your money.”
“You should be.”
“I don’t want your money.”
Arthur scoffed.
“I want mine back.”
Silence.
Arthur’s expression changed.
Clara continued.
“And tomorrow Evelyn Shaw will file for divorce, an asset freeze, an independent audit of Caldwell Holdings and emergency protections concerning custody.”
Arthur turned white.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I already signed the papers.”
She walked toward the door.
Arthur shouted after her.
“Clara!”
She stopped.
“You’ll regret this!”
She turned.
“No, Arthur.”
Her voice was calm.
“I regret staying.”
Outside, Dominic opened the car door.
Clara did not enter.
Instead she leaned against the vehicle and exhaled.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No.”
“Good answer.”
She looked at him.
“Why good?”
“Because people who claim they’re fine after something like that usually aren’t.”
Clara studied his tattooed hand resting against the car.
“What happens now?”
“Arthur fights.”
“And if he wins?”
“He won’t.”
“You sound very certain.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I’m usually certain.”
“That arrogance must be exhausting.”
“For everyone around me.”
She laughed despite herself.
Then her expression softened.
“Thank you for stopping when I asked.”
Dominic understood what she meant.
Arthur.
The restaurant.
His anger.
“You said you didn’t want violence.”
“I don’t.”
“Then there won’t be violence.”
“You can promise that?”
“For you?”
Dominic paused.
“Yes.”
Clara looked at him differently after that.
The next morning brought the first headline:
CALDWELL BILLIONAIRE FACES DIVORCE AND FRAUD ALLEGATIONS AFTER VIRAL GALA HUMILIATION
By noon, Caldwell Industries stock had dropped.
By three, two board members resigned.
By five, federal regulators requested financial records.
Arthur called Clara eighteen times.
She answered the nineteenth.
“What?”
His breathing was heavy.
“You did this.”
“No.”
“You and Castillion destroyed my company.”
Clara looked through the window of Dominic’s apartment.
“No, Arthur.”
She remembered Dominic’s words.
“You did this yourself.”
Arthur’s voice lowered.
“Then I’ll destroy something you care about.”
The line disconnected.
Clara froze.
Dominic entered the room.
“What happened?”
She looked at him.
“Arthur just threatened me.”
Dominic took the phone.
For the first time, Clara saw genuine fear in his eyes.
Not fear of Arthur.
Fear for her.
“Dante,” he said into his own phone. “Double security.”
Clara stood.
“Dominic—”
He looked at her.
“Your husband has stopped thinking rationally.”
“And what does that mean?”
May you like
Dominic’s answer was quiet.
“It means the real war just started.”
