Chapter 5 - The Wife Who Knew Too Much|
At noon, Paige met Daniel in the lobby of a downtown office building.
He had chosen the location because it was public, busy, and equipped with security cameras. He brought a folder but refused to hand it over until they were seated.
“You need a lawyer who specializes in financial crimes,” he said.
“I need to know whether my children are in danger.”
“Those are not mutually exclusive concerns.”
He opened the folder.
Inside were corporate registrations, transaction summaries, and a copy of the authorization Paige had signed three years earlier.
She recognized her signature immediately.
The document granted her limited administrative authority over the Hale Meridian Foundation's investment account.
She had never been told that the account was connected to Lantern Strategic Holdings.
“I signed this because Marcus said it was a routine acknowledgment.”
“Your signature is genuine,” Daniel said. “But the document may have been altered after signing. The page numbers don't match the version filed with the bank.”
Paige felt sick.
“So someone used my name.”
“Possibly. We need the originals.”
She turned to the transaction summary.
“Where did the money go?”
“Some of it went to legitimate charities. Some went through shell companies. And a substantial portion appears to have funded private security contracts.”
“Private security?”
“Companies with no public employees, no equipment records, and no clear operating history.”
Paige looked up.
“Why would a charity fund security contractors?”
“That's what investigators will want to know.”
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Natalie.
Two men came to my apartment asking where you were. They said they were from Marcus's office. They wouldn't show identification.
Paige's blood went cold.
She called her sister immediately.
“Did you let them inside?”
“No.”
“Did they threaten you?”
“Not directly. One of them said Marcus wanted to make sure the children were safe.”
“Did they mention me?”
“They asked whether you'd taken any documents from the house.”
Paige looked at Daniel.
“They're searching for something.”
“Then we should assume whatever they want is important.”
Daniel closed the folder.
“I'm going to introduce you to an attorney named Rachel Kim. She's handled complex corporate fraud cases. Until then, don't meet Marcus alone.”
Paige nodded.
She had spent years believing that the biggest danger to a marriage was betrayal between two people.
Now she was beginning to understand that betrayal could spread outward, turning family, money, and even the charitable work she had believed in into instruments of control.
At 1:17 p.m., Rachel called.
“I've reviewed the initial documents,” the attorney said. “There are several things I need to clarify. First, did you ever have access to the foundation's original accounting system?”
“No. I only reviewed annual summaries.”
“Did your husband ever ask you to approve transfers?”
“Not directly.”
“Did you receive any compensation from the foundation?”
“No.”
“Then we need to preserve evidence that establishes your actual role.”
Rachel's voice was calm, but her next words were not.
“The foundation is under preliminary review. If investigators discover that your signature was used to authorize suspicious transfers, they will ask questions. That doesn't make you guilty. It makes it urgent that you document what happened.”
Paige looked through the glass walls of the office building.
People hurried along the sidewalk carrying coffees, talking on phones, and living lives that had not suddenly split into before and after.
“Can Marcus be responsible?” she asked.
“Of course. But we won't assume anything until the evidence supports it.”
That evening, Marcus called again.
Paige let it ring twice before answering.
“Where are the kids?”
“Safe.”
“Can I speak to them?”
“Not until we establish some boundaries.”
He sounded wounded, as though she had denied him something he was entitled to receive without question.
“You're keeping my children from me.”
“No. I'm making sure they don't have to watch us fight.”
“I want to explain what happened.”
“Then explain the foundation.”
Silence.
“Paige, there are things you don't understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
“I can't discuss this over the phone.”
“Is that because someone is listening?”
His breathing changed.
“Who told you that?”
She closed her eyes.
He had answered the question without meaning to.
“Marcus, what did you do?”
“Nothing that was intended to hurt you.”
“That's not the same as saying you did nothing.”
He didn't respond.
Finally, he said, “I need you to trust me.”
Paige remembered the suitcase beside the stairs, Celeste's red coat, and Lucy folding her drawing until the flowers disappeared.
“I trusted you for eleven years,” she said. “That was never the problem.”
She ended the call.
Then she opened her laptop and searched the family photographs stored in her cloud account.
Most were ordinary: birthdays, vacations, school performances.
But one photograph, taken at a foundation event two years earlier, showed Marcus standing beside a man she didn't recognize.
The man's face was partially hidden behind a champagne glass.
On his lapel was a small silver pin.
A lantern.
Paige enlarged the image.
Behind the two men stood Celeste Ward.
May you like
She was smiling at the camera.
And she was holding a folder marked PRIVATE SECURITY—PHASE TWO.
