Chapter 4: The Secretary Who Knew Too Much
For a moment, nobody moved.
The runway stretched endlessly around us, the morning sun reflecting off the private jet behind me.
Jasmine stood at the bottom of the aircraft stairs with a folder pressed against her chest.
The same woman who had been sitting in my seat minutes earlier.
The same woman who had smiled while feeding my husband oranges.
The same woman who had acted like I was an inconvenience.
Now she stood there claiming she had transferred my shares.
Aaron turned toward her.
His expression was not surprise.
It was panic.
“Jasmine,” he said sharply.
She looked at him.
And for the first time, she didn’t look like a nervous employee.
She looked like someone who knew she had power.
“Should I stop explaining?”” she asked.
Aaron’s face tightened.
“Not here.””
That sentence told me everything.
Not because he said it.
Because he didn’t deny it.
I looked between them.
“What exactly did she do?””
Neither answered.
I took a step forward.
“Jasmine.””
She looked at me.
“Yes, Mrs. Prescott?””
The way she said my title was almost mocking.
Almost.
“Explain.””
She glanced at Aaron.
Waiting.
Maybe for permission.
Maybe for protection.
But Aaron stayed silent.
So she opened the folder.
“I filed the restructuring documents six months ago.””
My eyes moved to the papers.
“Restructuring?””
“Yes.””
She pulled out a page.
“After the board raised concerns about company stability, we created a new ownership structure.””
I stared at her.
“We?””
She smiled faintly.
“The executive committee.””
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was absurd.
The executive committee.
A group of people who had spent years reporting to Aaron.
People who had benefited from the company’s success.
People who believed the person behind the company was the person standing in front of cameras.
And somehow, they had decided to restructure ownership without me.
“You transferred my shares,” I said slowly.
Jasmine tilted her head.
“Not exactly.””
“Then what exactly did you do?””
She placed another document on top.
“We converted your controlling shares into non-voting shares.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because I understood immediately.
They didn’t take my ownership away.
They took away my voice.
The one thing that mattered.
The one thing Aaron couldn’t control.
My ability to make decisions.
My ability to stop them.
“You changed my voting rights.””
Jasmine nodded.
“Temporarily.””
I looked at Aaron.
“Did you know?””
Silence.
That was all I needed.
My chest tightened.
Not from surprise.
From disappointment.
Because some small part of me had still hoped he would say no.
He would step forward.
He would say, “I never approved this.””
He would say, “I was lied to.””
He would say anything.
Instead, he stood there.
Quiet.
“Aaron.””
My voice was calm.
Too calm.
“Did you sign this?””
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.””
The runway seemed to disappear for a second.
The noise.
The wind.
Everything.
Just that one word.
Yes.
“You signed away my voting rights.””
“I signed a temporary agreement.””
“A temporary agreement you hid from me.””
His jaw tightened.
“I was trying to protect the company.””
I stared at him.
“From what?””
He didn’t answer.
“From me?””
“No.””
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
“Then from what?””
Aaron looked frustrated.
Like he hated that he had to explain himself.
“There were investors threatening to leave.””
I nodded slowly.
“Because they believed the company was unstable?””
“Yes.””
“Because they didn’t know the founder’s wife controlled the patents and financing?””
He looked away.
That was enough.
The truth was obvious.
My authority was inconvenient.
My existence complicated the story he sold.
A company led by a brilliant self-made billionaire was easier to market than a company saved by his wife’s family money.
Jasmine stepped forward.
“You’re making this emotional.””
I turned toward her.
That was the first mistake she made.
She assumed I was emotional.
She assumed hurt meant weakness.
“You’re right,” I said.
She looked surprised.
“I am emotional.””
I paused.
“Because my husband betrayed me.””
Aaron flinched.
“But the documents are not emotional.””
I picked up the folder.
“The contracts are not emotional.””
I looked at Jasmine.
“And the legal consequences will not be emotional either.””
Her confident expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
She wasn’t prepared for that.
She had expected anger.
She had expected tears.
She had expected a wife who would break down.
She had not expected someone who knew exactly how to fight.
Victoria stepped forward.
“Alyssa, don’t threaten people.””
I looked at her.
“Threaten?””
“Yes.””
She sighed.
“This is business.””
“No.””
I held up the document.
“This is what happens when people confuse marriage with permission.””
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone knew.
This wasn’t just about shares.
It was about trust.
Four years ago, Aaron had asked me to believe in him.
And I did.
Now he had taken that trust and used it against me.
The captain quietly approached.
“Mrs. Prescott?””
I looked over.
“Yes?””
“Your vehicle has arrived.””
I nodded.
Aaron immediately stepped forward.
“You’re leaving?””
I looked at him.
That question almost sounded genuine.
“Yes.””
“We need to solve this.””
“No.””
His eyebrows pulled together.
“No?””
“You need to solve this.””
I walked toward my waiting car.
“Alyssa.””
I stopped.
I didn’t turn around.
“What?””
His voice lowered.
“You’re really willing to destroy everything?””
I closed my eyes for a second.
There it was.
The final misunderstanding.
He still believed I was the threat.
Not the betrayal.
Not the deception.
Me.
I turned around.
“Aaron.””
He looked at me.
“I built everything I touched to help you succeed.””
A pause.
“But you were so afraid of people knowing I mattered that you destroyed the one thing I gave you freely.””
His expression changed.
“Alyssa—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to fix this with an apology.””
The words surprised even me.
Because once, an apology from him would have been enough.
Once, I would have forgiven anything.
Not anymore.
I walked away.
But before I reached the car, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I saw the area code.
My father’s legal office.
I answered.
“Alyssa Bennett speaking.””
A woman’s voice replied.
“Mrs. Prescott, I apologize for contacting you without notice.””
“Who is this?””
“My name is Rebecca Hale. I’m with Bennett Legal.””
I stopped walking.
“What happened?””
A pause.
Then:
“We reviewed the shareholder registry.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“And?””
Her voice became quieter.
“We found something concerning.””
I looked back at the jet.
Aaron was still standing there.
Watching me.
“What did you find?””
“The transfer Jasmine filed six months ago was not the first transfer.””
My heart sank.
“What do you mean?””
“There was another transaction before that.””
The wind suddenly felt colder.
“Whose signature approved it?””
Rebecca hesitated.
And that hesitation scared me more than the answer.
Finally, she said:
“Yours.””
I froze.
“That’s impossible.””
“We thought so too.””
My grip tightened.
“I never signed anything.””
“I know.””
The silence between us lasted several seconds.
Then Rebecca said the words that changed everything.
“Mrs. Prescott, someone forged your signature.””
I looked at Aaron.
At the man standing beside the plane.
The man who had once promised he would never lie to me.
“Who benefited from the transfer?””
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“That’s why I called immediately.””
A pause.
“The shares were transferred into a private holding company.””
I waited.
“Whose company?””
Her answer came softly.
“Prescott Legacy Group.””
I frowned.
“That’s Aaron’s family trust.””
“No.””
Rebecca’s voice became serious.
“That’s the problem.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Why?””
“Because Prescott Legacy Group was dissolved seven years ago.””
I stared at the aircraft.
At Victoria.
At Aaron.
The pieces began moving.
Someone had created a company that shouldn’t exist.
Someone had forged my signature.
Someone had quietly stolen control.
And suddenly, Jasmine wasn’t the mastermind.
She was just the person holding the folder.
Rebecca continued.
“Mrs. Prescott, there is one more thing.””
“What?””
“The person who filed the documents…”
I waited.
“Used your husband’s personal authorization code.””
My eyes lifted.
Aaron was watching me.
He knew.
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
I ended the call slowly.
Then I walked back toward the jet.
Aaron’s expression changed when he saw my face.
“What happened?””
I looked at him.
“Tell me the truth.””
“Alyssa—”
“Did you create Prescott Legacy Group?””
His face went completely still.
And that was when I knew.
The answer was yes.
But before he could speak, Victoria whispered from behind him:
“Aaron, don’t.””
I turned toward her.
Because those two words revealed something even more dangerous.
She wasn’t warning him.
She was warning him not to confess.
And that meant the secret they had been hiding was much bigger than stolen shares.
Much bigger than a company.
May you like
Because the person who forged my signature wasn’t trying to take my power.
They were trying to make it look like I gave it away.
