Chapter 13 - My Husband Finally Told Me Why He Was Afraid
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David appeared outside Elena's office the next afternoon.
I almost walked past him.
He looked terrible.
His once-perfect hair was disheveled.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
He wore a wrinkled gray sweater instead of his usual expensive suit.
“Clare, please.”
I stopped several feet away.
“What do you want?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“You can speak to Elena.”
He looked around nervously.
“Not about this.”
I considered leaving.
Then he said something that made me pause.
“Jennifer is setting me up.”
I stared at him.
“That's unfortunate.”
“Clare, I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
He ran his hands through his hair.
“I know you hate me.”
“Hate would require energy I'm no longer willing to spend on you.”
He winced.
“Can we just sit down?”
I called Elena.
She agreed to join us in a conference room.
David sat opposite me and stared at his hands.
For several minutes, he said nothing.
Finally, he whispered:
“I met Jennifer at a business reception last year.”
I waited.
“She knew I wanted a promotion. She said she could introduce me to people who would help.”
“And you slept with her.”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“She asked me to process some consulting agreements through our company's vendor system.”
“Fraudulent agreements?”
“I didn't know at first.”
I stared at him.
“How convenient.”
David swallowed.
“By the time I understood what was happening, she'd already moved money through accounts connected to me.”
“And mine.”
He looked up.
“Clare—”
“Don't.”
He lowered his eyes.
Elena spoke calmly.
“David, did you knowingly authorize financial records using Clare's personal information?”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
I felt physically sick.
“Why?”
David's voice broke.
“Jennifer said the accounts were temporary. She promised the money would be returned before anyone noticed.”
I laughed bitterly.
“And you believed her?”
“At first.”
“What happened when you stopped believing her?”
He looked toward the door.
“She had recordings. Messages. Everything.”
“Of your affair?”
“And my involvement in the transfers.”
I stared at him.
“So instead of telling the truth, you kept helping.”
“I was scared.”
I leaned forward.
“Do you have any idea how scared I was when I discovered someone had used my identity?”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
He wiped his face.
Then he took a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
“There is a storage drive.”
I glanced at Elena.
“What drive?”
“Jennifer made Marcus keep copies of the original approval records.”
“Where?”
“I don't know exactly. But Marcus uses a private storage office connected to Pier 17.”
Elena took notes.
David continued.
“Jennifer wanted backup evidence in case Jack ever questioned the accounts.”
I frowned.
“Evidence against whom?”
David looked at me.
“Everyone.”
A chill ran through me.
Then he whispered:
“Clare, there's something else.”
I waited.
“The money didn't all go to Jennifer.”
“Where did it go?”
David's eyes filled with fear.
“Someone else was getting paid.”
“Who?”
He shook his head.
“I never met them.”
“David.”
He looked directly at me.
“But I saw the initials on the transfer instructions.”
I held my breath.
He whispered:
“M.C.”
I stared at him.
Those were my former colleague's initials.
Maya Chen.
May you like
But before I could say her name, David leaned forward.
“And Clare? Whoever that person is, Jennifer is more afraid of them than she is of Jack Thompson.”
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