Chapter 3 - SOMEONE HAD BEEN WATCHING THE BABYOlivia barely slept.
“What about my company?”
Jonathan Reed adjusted his glasses.
“That depends on which company you mean.”
“There is only one Cole Development.”
Olivia almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Six years earlier, Cole Development had consisted of Adrian, an aging laptop, a rented office above a dental clinic, and enough debt to frighten every legitimate bank in Illinois.
Olivia had believed in him.
That had been her first mistake.
Her second had been allowing Adrian to believe her support was merely emotional.
Jonathan removed several documents.
“Cole Development Group currently operates through four holding companies.”
“I know how my company is structured.”
“Apparently not.”
Adrian slammed one hand on the table.
Camille jumped.
Jonathan remained calm.
“Bennett Capital Partners owns forty-two percent of CDG Holdings.”
Adrian stared.
“That investment belongs to my wife.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Correct.”
“And we’re married.”
“For the moment.”
“So it’s marital property.”
“No.”
Adrian laughed sharply.
“You expect me to believe she secretly owns half my business?”
“I expect you to read.”
Jonathan pushed the shareholder agreement across the table.
Olivia remembered signing it.
She had been twenty-nine years old.
Adrian had been sitting beside her, impatiently answering emails while her grandfather’s attorneys finalized the financing that saved Adrian’s first major project.
Adrian had barely glanced at the paperwork.
He had called it “family money.”
Olivia’s grandfather had called it protection.
Now Adrian was discovering the difference.
Jonathan explained.
“The initial capital came from Olivia’s premarital trust. The shares have remained within that trust. They were never commingled.”
Camille looked at Adrian.
“You told me you owned seventy percent.”
“I do.”
“No,” Jonathan said. “You personally control twenty-eight percent.”
Adrian’s face went red.
“That’s absurd.”
“Your cofounder owns twelve. Employee equity represents another eighteen. Olivia’s trust owns forty-two.”
Camille’s eyes widened.
Olivia noticed.
That was the first moment she understood something important.
Camille hadn’t fallen in love with Adrian.
She had fallen in love with what Adrian claimed to own.
Adrian pointed at Olivia.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“You attended the meetings.”
“I trusted you.”
Olivia looked at him for several seconds.
“The irony is impressive.”
Camille quietly stepped away from him.
Adrian noticed.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
“You just moved.”
“I’m getting my phone.”
Jonathan interrupted.
“Before either of you make calls, I should explain what happens next.”
He handed Adrian a formal notice.
“The Bennett trust is exercising its rights under Section Fourteen of the operating agreement.”
Adrian scanned the page.
His face tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means an emergency board meeting has been called for nine tomorrow morning.”
“For what purpose?”
Jonathan’s eyes hardened.
“To investigate misuse of corporate funds.”
Silence filled the room.
Olivia looked at Adrian.
That part was new.
“Misuse?”
Jonathan glanced at her.
“We found several irregularities this afternoon after your call.”
Adrian quickly recovered.
“Accounting errors.”
“Perhaps.”
“What irregularities?”
“A company apartment in River North. Jewelry purchases classified as client development. Private travel charged to corporate accounts. Approximately $186,000 transferred through a consulting company called Rhodes Strategic Solutions.”
Every person in the room looked at Camille.
She went pale.
Olivia felt something cold move through her chest.
“Rhodes?”
Camille swallowed.
“My company.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Yes.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Those are legitimate consulting fees.”
“What did Ms. Rhodes consult on?”
“Brand strategy.”
Jonathan lifted another sheet.
“Then perhaps tomorrow she can explain why the invoices correspond almost perfectly to luxury purchases made on her personal credit card.”
Camille turned toward Adrian.
“You said your accountant handled everything.”
“Shut up.”
Olivia stared at him.
She had never heard Adrian speak to Camille that way.
The fantasy was already cracking.
Jonathan closed the folder.
“Mr. Cole, nobody is making accusations tonight. The board will review the evidence.”
Adrian’s eyes flicked toward Olivia.
“You did this.”
“No.”
“You’re trying to destroy me because I left you.”
“You left me two hours ago.”
“I know how vindictive women operate.”
Olivia’s hand instinctively moved to her stomach again.
The baby kicked.
She suddenly felt exhausted.
Jonathan noticed.
“That’s enough.”
Adrian glared at him.
“You don’t get to tell me—”
“This is Ms. Cole’s residence, and I am instructing you to leave.”
Adrian laughed.
“You can’t evict me from my marital home without notice.”
“You are correct.”
Jonathan nodded toward the security officer.
“We are not evicting you.”
Olivia frowned.
Jonathan looked at her.
“You may choose to permit Mr. Cole to remain until proper legal procedures are completed.”
Olivia knew what he was doing.
The decision had to be hers.
Not Jonathan’s.
Not her grandfather’s trust.
Hers.
She looked at Adrian.
Five years of marriage.
A nursery upstairs.
Baby clothes folded into tiny drawers.
Sunday mornings.
Arguments.
Holidays.
The first ultrasound.
Then she looked at Camille’s white robe.
“You can stay in the guest wing tonight.”
Adrian blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not throwing a seven-month-pregnant woman onto the street, Adrian.”
His eyes narrowed.
She continued.
“Apparently you have no problem doing that. I do.”
Jonathan almost smiled.
“But Camille leaves now.”
Camille’s mouth opened.
Adrian immediately said, “She stays.”
Olivia looked directly at him.
“No.”
“This is my home too.”
“Then enjoy your legal right to occupy it without your mistress.”
Camille stared at Adrian.
“You promised me we were moving into this place together.”
“Camille—”
“You said Olivia had no claim.”
“She doesn’t.”
Jonathan cleared his throat.
“Again, the deed suggests otherwise.”
Camille grabbed her handbag from the sofa.
“This is unbelievable.”
Adrian followed her.
“Don’t leave.”
She spun around.
“You told me you owned the house and the company.”
“I do own the company.”
“Twenty-eight percent?”
“It’s more complicated.”
“And tomorrow you might lose control?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Camille’s eyes moved toward Olivia.
For one long second, Olivia saw pure hatred there.
Not embarrassment.
Hatred.
Then Camille smiled.
A strange, controlled smile.
“You think you’ve won.”
Olivia said nothing.
Camille pulled off the silk robe and threw it onto the floor.
Underneath, she wore a fitted black dress.
“Keep your house.”
She leaned closer to Olivia.
“You’re going to need it.”
Adrian grabbed Camille’s elbow.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
She pulled away.
“Ask your wife.”
Then she walked out.
One of the black SUVs remained outside until her car disappeared through the gates.
Adrian immediately turned on Olivia.
“What did you say to her?”
“Nothing.”
“Why would she say that?”
“I don’t know.”
He searched her face.
For the first time, Olivia suspected Adrian was frightened of Camille too.
Jonathan instructed two attorneys to photograph the documents and secure Olivia’s home office.
Adrian watched them move through the house.
“This is insane.”
Olivia began walking toward the stairs.
Her back ached.
She wanted only to lie down.
Adrian followed.
“We are not finished.”
“I am.”
“You think because your grandfather left you some trust fund you can humiliate me?”
She stopped.
“My grandfather didn’t humiliate you.”
She faced him.
“You did that yourself.”
His jaw tightened.
“I built everything we have.”
“No. You built a company. We built a life. And apparently you confused both with things you owned alone.”
He lowered his voice.
“You’re going to regret embarrassing me.”
Something in his tone made Olivia uncomfortable.
Jonathan had heard it too.
He stepped closer.
“Careful.”
Adrian laughed and walked away.
Olivia continued upstairs.
Inside the nursery, moonlight fell across the crib.
She sat in the rocking chair and finally allowed herself to cry.
Not for Adrian.
For the daughter who would never know the family Olivia had imagined.
Several minutes later, Jonathan entered quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He hesitated.
Olivia knew him too well.
“Jonathan.”
He closed the door.
“When our forensic accountant reviewed the corporate transfers, he found something else.”
“What?”
“Three payments from Cole Development to a private medical consulting company.”
Olivia frowned.
“So?”
“The company specializes in fertility and prenatal records.”
Her stomach tightened.
“I don’t understand.”
“The payments began two weeks after you told Adrian you were pregnant.”
Olivia’s face lost color.
Jonathan continued carefully.
“There’s more.”
He handed her a printed invoice.
A patient identification number appeared near the bottom.
Olivia recognized it immediately.
It was hers.
Her fingers started trembling.
“Why would Adrian’s company be paying someone to access my prenatal records?”
Jonathan’s expression was grim.
“I don’t know.”
Olivia looked down at her stomach.
May you like
For the first time that night, the betrayal stopped feeling like a divorce.
It felt like danger.
Related Stories
