Chapter 13 - The Mistress Who Finally Realized She Was Disposable|
Tiffany called me at 6:15 on Monday morning.
I stared at the unfamiliar number until it rang a second time.
Then I answered.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Calloway?”
I recognized her voice immediately.
“What do you want, Tiffany?”
She hesitated.
“I need to speak with you.”
“Then contact Meredith.”
“Please. I don't think Ross is telling me the truth anymore.”
I nearly laughed.
“That's an interesting discovery.”
Her voice trembled.
“I know how this sounds.”
“Do you?”
She was silent.
Then whispered:
“I think they're going to blame everything on me.”
That caught my attention.
I agreed to let her speak with Meredith present.
We met in a conference room later that afternoon.
Tiffany looked nothing like the confident woman who had smiled at me from Ross's office.
Her hair was pulled back.
She wore a plain black coat.
And the gold bracelet was gone.
I noticed immediately.
“Where's my bracelet?”
Tiffany looked down.
“In my bag.”
I held out my hand.
She hesitated.
Then removed a small velvet pouch and placed it on the table.
Inside was the bracelet Ross had given me for our anniversary.
I looked at the tiny diamonds.
For a moment, I remembered the restaurant where he had first fastened it around my wrist.
Then I closed the pouch.
“Thank you.”
Tiffany began crying.
“I didn't know he gave it to you first.”
I stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I knew you were married. I'm not going to lie about that. But he told me the bracelet was a new purchase.”
I said nothing.
She wiped her face.
“Ross told me your marriage was over.”
“How convenient.”
“He said you'd been living separate lives for years.”
I leaned forward.
“Tiffany, whether you believed that or not, you knew he was married.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
For the first time, she didn't attempt to defend herself.
Then Meredith spoke.
“You said you were concerned about being blamed for financial transactions.”
Tiffany opened her handbag.
“I have emails.”
She placed printed copies on the table.
Several came from Delia.
Others came from Ross.
They instructed Tiffany to arrange consulting payments and prepare administrative documents for the proposed condominium transfer.
I studied one message.
Delia had written:
Make sure the transfer is complete before the settlement conference. We cannot leave the asset in Lydia's name.
I felt my stomach tighten.
Tiffany continued.
“Ross told me the condo belonged to his family.”
“It belongs to me.”
“I know that now.”
Meredith examined the documents.
“Did you create these emails?”
“No. I retained copies of messages sent to me. I can provide the originals from my account through counsel.”
Meredith nodded.
Then Tiffany looked at me.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Constance told Ross that once the divorce was finished, Poppy's assets would be much easier to manage.”
My hands went cold.
“What exactly did she say?”
Tiffany swallowed.
“She said the child was the key to solving the ownership problem.”
I stared at her.
Then she whispered:
“Lydia, your mother-in-law never cared about giving me a condo.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“She wanted you focused on the affair and the property transfer while her lawyers worked on something else.”
I felt sick.
“What something?”
May you like
Tiffany looked toward Meredith.
“A way to gain control over the shares held for your daughter.”
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