Chapter 4: The Marriage He Was Trying To Steal
I met Olivia the next morning in a quiet coffee shop across town.
I expected anger.
I expected arrogance.
I expected the woman who had slept beside my husband to look like my enemy.
She didn’t.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw me, she stood.
“Clara.””
I stayed standing.
“You have five minutes.””
She nodded.
Fair.
She deserved my anger.
But something about her expression made me listen.
“I know you hate me.””
“I don’t know you enough to hate you.””
She looked surprised.
“I hate what you did.””
She lowered her eyes.
“I know.””
“Then tell me why you called.””
Olivia took a deep breath.
“Because I realized Nathan was using me.””
I almost smiled.
“Now you understand?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I thought he loved me.””
That sentence almost made me angry again.
Almost.
“What did he tell you?””
“That he was trapped.””
I looked away.
Of course.
“He said your marriage was over.””
I laughed quietly.
“Interesting.””
“He told me you both wanted different lives.””
“And did you believe him?””
“Yes.””
She swallowed.
“Because he showed me messages.””
“What messages?””
“Texts between you and him.””
My face changed.
“What?””
“He showed me conversations where you said you were unhappy.””
I stared at her.
“I never wrote those.””
“I know that now.””
My hands went cold.
“What else?””
Olivia reached into her bag.
She placed a folder on the table.
Inside were printed documents.
Emails.
Financial records.
And photographs.
“He wasn’t planning a divorce.””
I looked at the papers.
“He was planning to take control.””
Rebecca’s warning echoed in my mind.
Money.
Transfers.
Hidden accounts.
“What is this?””
Olivia pointed to the documents.
“Nathan created a company three years ago.””
I looked closer.
The company name made my stomach twist.
It was connected to Daniel Cross.
“The man in the photo.””
Olivia nodded.
“Daniel and Nathan were never enemies.””
Everything shifted.
The story Nathan had told me.
The betrayal.
The anger.
The ruined partnership.
All fake.
“They were working together?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Olivia looked at me.
“Because of your inheritance.””
My chest tightened.
My father’s company.
The shares I had inherited after he died.
Nathan always told me he didn’t care about my money.
“I married you because I loved you,” he used to say.
I wanted that to be true.
Olivia whispered:
“He knew your shares would become valuable.””
I looked at the documents again.
The numbers.
The signatures.
The dates.
Three years.
Everything started three years ago.
“What was your role?””
Olivia looked ashamed.
“I was supposed to help him access information.””
“About me?””
“Yes.””
I stood.
For a second, I wanted to leave.
But then Olivia said:
“There’s something else.””
I stopped.
“What?””
She opened another file.
“This was found yesterday.””
Inside was a legal document.
My name was written across the top.
I read the first line.
And my entire body went cold.
It was a draft agreement.
A transfer agreement.
Moving my shares.
Moving my assets.
Moving everything Nathan had spent years trying to reach.
“He needed your signature,” Olivia said.
I looked up.
“But I never signed.””
“No.””
“Then why does this exist?””
Olivia hesitated.
“Because he found another way.””
I left the coffee shop with the documents in my bag.
When I returned home, Nathan was gone.
But someone had left something on the kitchen counter.
An envelope.
My name was written on it.
Inside was one piece of paper.
A message.
Five words.
*You should have trusted me.*
I stared at the handwriting.
Nathan’s handwriting.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Rebecca.
*Clara, do not go back into your house alone. I found something in Nathan’s records.*
I called immediately.
She answered on the first ring.
“Clara.””
“What did you find?””
Her voice dropped.
“Your husband has been preparing for this for years.””
I looked around my empty house.
“What do you mean?””
A pause.
Then:
“He didn’t just plan to leave you.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What did he plan?””
May you like
Rebecca whispered:
“He planned to make sure you left with nothing.””
