Chapter 6 - The Twenty-Eight Million Dollar Girlfriend
Brier left before I could confront her.
The moment Elena stepped from the library, Brier seemed to realize the atmosphere had shifted.
She collected her purse.
“I have nothing else to say.”
I blocked the doorway.
“I do.”
Declan stepped between us.
“Sarah.”
“Move.”
“Whatever you think this is, you’re wrong.”
I looked at him.
“Twenty-eight million dollars.”
His face went blank.
Brier stopped breathing.
That reaction told me everything.
“Logan Strategic Advisory.”
Declan turned slowly toward Brier.
“What did you do?”
She laughed nervously.
“Are you serious?”
The color had drained from his face.
“You told me those contracts were terminated.”
Brier stared at him.
That was the first moment I realized Declan might not know everything.
Not innocence.
But perhaps ignorance within a larger betrayal.
I looked at Elena.
“Call building security.”
Brier’s voice rose.
“You can’t detain me.”
“I’m not detaining you.”
I stepped aside.
“I’m documenting when you leave.”
She grabbed the door.
Before stepping into the hallway, she turned toward Declan.
“You promised me you would handle her.”
The elevator doors closed.
I faced my husband.
“Handle me?”
“She’s angry.”
“Try again.”
Declan walked toward the windows.
“I knew her company had done consulting work for Whitmore.”
“Twenty-eight million dollars of consulting?”
“I didn’t know the amount.”
“What kind of consulting?”
He said nothing.
I felt something settle inside me.
It was no longer heartbreak.
It was focus.
“Did you marry me for the voting shares?”
“No.”
“Did your mother tell you our marriage activated them?”
“Yes.”
There it was.
One clean word.
“Yes.”
I laughed once.
“Thank you.”
“Sarah.”
“At least now I know you are capable of telling the truth.”
He turned.
“I loved you.”
“Past tense already?”
“I love you.”
“You lied to me for three years.”
“I didn’t know how to explain the trust without making it sound like that was why I proposed.”
“Was it?”
He hesitated too long.
My eyes filled, but I refused to let the tears fall.
“Get out.”
“Sarah.”
“Get out.”
He stepped closer.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
He could not answer.
I opened the door.
He stared at me for several seconds before leaving.
Twenty minutes later, Elena and I drove to Whitmore Global headquarters.
The audit team had found six more transfers.
All routed through consulting firms.
All approved by the same executive officer.
Not Declan.
Celeste Whitmore.
May you like
But the final approval signature on three of them belonged to someone else.
Declan.
