Chapter 2 - THE FILE HE NEVER WANTED ME TO SEE|
I stared at the photograph until the faces blurred.
Preston stood outside the old Hale Meridian headquarters, wearing the charcoal suit I had bought him for our fifth anniversary. Beside him was a man in a dark coat, his face partly hidden by the shadow of a parking garage.
The timestamp read 8:41 p.m.
The fire department's report said the first emergency call came at 9:03.
"Where did you get this?" I asked.
"From a private investigator who was hired to examine irregularities in the company's insurance claim."
Gideon sat across from me.
"That building belonged to a company in which my investment firm held a substantial position. The fire destroyed records connected to a merger. At first, we believed it was an accident. Then the insurance payments began moving through accounts that had no legitimate connection to the company."
I turned another page.
There were bank transfers, emails, and copies of contracts. Several carried Preston's signature.
"I don't understand. Preston was only a senior executive back then."
"He was more involved than you were told."
Gideon explained that Hale Meridian had been preparing to sell a major subsidiary. The transaction depended on financial records stored in the old headquarters. After the fire, those records were declared destroyed, and the company received a substantial insurance settlement.
But someone had secretly copied the documents before the building burned.
Someone had also transferred money into an account controlled by a shell company connected to Preston.
"Why are you showing me this?" I asked.
"Because the transaction your husband is waiting for involves shares in a company that may have been built on fraudulent records."
He opened a second folder.
"Preston is trying to secure a voting stake before the next board meeting. If he succeeds, he could gain control of the subsidiary and bury the old investigation."
My fingers tightened around the pages.
"And you think I can help you stop him?"
"I think you may know something you don't realize you know."
I shook my head.
"I was in the hospital. I spent months in rehabilitation. I didn't know anything about corporate records."
"Not records. People."
Gideon pointed to the photograph.
"Who is the man standing beside Preston?"
I studied the image. The man's posture was familiar, but his face remained hidden.
Then I remembered the night of the fire.
I had been waiting for Preston in his office. I was supposed to bring him the dinner he had forgotten at home. When the alarm sounded, I heard someone arguing with him in the hallway.
A man had shouted, "You said the files were already gone!"
I had never told anyone because I thought it was part of the confusion.
I repeated the words.
Gideon became very still.
"You're certain?"
"I heard them just before the smoke reached the corridor."
He closed the folder.
"That changes things."
I asked whether he knew who the man was.
"Not yet. But I suspect he's connected to the equity transfer."
My phone began vibrating. Preston.
I let it ring.
A message followed.
Where are you? Cassidy says you were asking questions. Don't embarrass yourself by interfering with business you don't understand.
I showed Gideon.
He read it, then looked at me.
"He's nervous."
"He's always been controlling."
"No," Gideon said. "This is different. He knows something has moved against him."
I wanted to ask why Gideon cared so much. Instead, I asked the question that had been burning inside me.
"How did you know I was going to file for divorce before I told anyone?"
He hesitated.
"Your attorney's office called mine this morning. They were looking for information about the Hale family assets. I assumed you had finally decided to protect yourself."
I frowned.
"I haven't contacted an attorney yet."
Gideon's expression changed.
"Then who called?"
He picked up the phone and made one short call. A minute later, his assistant entered carrying a printed email.
The request had come from a law firm representing Preston.
They had contacted Gideon's legal department asking whether I had any ownership rights in Ashford Capital.
I read the final sentence twice.
Our client anticipates an imminent marital separation and requests confirmation of any assets that may be transferred to Mrs. Vivian Hale.
Preston wasn't merely preparing to divorce me.
He was already trying to find out what I could take with me.
Then Gideon turned the page over.
"There's something else," he said.
At the bottom was a handwritten note from the investigator.
Subject has been asking about the original fire report—and the woman who entered the building.
I felt cold.
Preston wasn't just planning to abandon me.
May you like
He was investigating the night I saved him.
And he had no idea that I had finally begun investigating it, too.
