Chapter 2: The Woman Who Thought She Had Won
For several seconds, Eric didn't move.
He stood beside his fallen chair, one hand gripping the back of it, staring at Natalie as though she had just exposed something far more dangerous than an affair.
My father broke the silence.
“Answer her.””
Eric straightened his jacket.
“This conversation is getting out of control.””
I almost laughed.
“Out of control? You brought my pregnant sister to our mother's birthday dinner and announced that you're having a child together. What exactly would a controlled situation look like?””
My mother began crying quietly.
Natalie ignored her.
“Eric,” she repeated.
“You told me Claire had signed the papers.””
“I said the paperwork was being handled.””
“No. You said she knew.””
I watched them argue.
It was strange how quickly two people who had been united in humiliating me could turn against each other when the truth became inconvenient.
Eric stepped closer to Natalie.
“Can we talk outside?””
She shook her head.
“You said we would have the house. You said the company would be transferred before the baby arrived.””
My father looked at me.
“Claire, is that true?””
I nodded.
“According to the documents, he planned to transfer our marital assets into a trust controlled by Natalie.””
My mother wiped her cheeks.
“Why would he do that?””
I answered before Eric could.
“Because he thought I wouldn't notice.””
Eric slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough!””
The champagne glasses rattled.
“Claire, you have no idea what you've done. You've taken confidential financial documents and presented them to people who have no business seeing them.””
I folded my arms.
“They're my parents. And the money came from our joint account.””
“You had no right to access my business records.””
“Your business records?”” I repeated.
“Half of that company was built using money from my inheritance.””
That silenced him.
Ten years earlier, Eric had started his construction consulting firm with almost nothing.
My father had offered advice, but I had supplied the money.
My grandmother had left me an inheritance of nearly four hundred thousand dollars. I had invested a substantial portion into Eric's company because I believed we were building a future together.
For years, Eric called it our company.
Apparently, that had changed.
My father leaned forward.
“Are you telling me Claire's inheritance funded your business?””
Eric rubbed his forehead.
“It was an investment. We discussed it.””
“Yes,” I said.
“And I have every document proving it.””
Natalie stared at me.
“You knew all this and still stayed with him?””
I turned slowly.
“Excuse me?””
She lifted her chin.
“You must have known your marriage was over. Eric told me you barely spoke anymore. He said you were obsessed with having a baby and that he couldn't live like that forever.””
I felt something cold settle inside my chest.
Not because I believed her.
Because I recognized the manipulation.
Eric had taken the most painful part of my life and turned it into a weapon against me.
“He told you that?”” I asked.
Natalie nodded.
“He said you were impossible to live with.””
“And did he tell you why I was struggling?””
She looked away.
“That's not what we're discussing.””
“Did he tell you about the nights I cried because another fertility treatment failed? Did he tell you he was the one who held my hand and promised we would keep trying?””
Natalie said nothing.
“Did he tell you that I asked him repeatedly whether he still wanted children, and he always said yes?””
Eric stepped forward.
“Claire, stop making this emotional.””
I looked at him.
“You're right. Let's talk about facts.””
I took another document from the folder.
A hotel invoice.
Then another.
Then a printed message.
Natalie's expression changed when she saw the date.
“You told me you were working in Chicago that weekend,” she whispered.
Eric stared at the paper.
“It's not what it looks like.””
I read the message aloud.
“Can't wait until the house is ours. Claire still thinks we're trying to save the marriage. She's so desperate for a baby she doesn't see anything else.””
My mother's hand flew to her mouth.
Natalie looked as though someone had slapped her.
“I didn't write that.””
“No,” I said.
“Eric did.””
She turned toward him.
“You said you never talked about me like that.””
Eric grabbed the paper.
“Give me that.””
I pulled it away.
“Careful. That's a copy.””
He stared at me.
For the first time that evening, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
Not guilt.
Fear.
And it made me wonder what else he had hidden.
My father stood.
“Claire, you need to speak to a lawyer tomorrow.””
“I already did.””
Eric froze.
I continued.
“Three weeks ago, I discovered the transfers. Two weeks ago, I met with a forensic accountant. Last week, I hired an attorney.””
Natalie looked at me with disbelief.
“You planned all this?””
“No. You two planned the betrayal. I simply decided not to be the last person to know about it.””
Eric's phone began vibrating.
He glanced at the screen.
Then he stepped away from the table.
I recognized the name displayed.
*Richard Cole — Attorney.*
My attorney.
Eric stared at the phone as if it had personally insulted him.
“You contacted Richard?””
“Yes.””
“Without discussing it with me?””
“Would you have discussed your secret divorce plan with me?””
He declined the call.
A second later, his phone rang again.
This time, he answered.
“Richard, this is not a good time.””
I watched his expression shift.
His shoulders tightened.
His eyes moved toward the red file.
“What do you mean, frozen?””
My father looked at me.
Natalie stopped crying.
Eric turned away from us.
“No. That account is mine. You can't do that.””
A pause.
Then he said something that made my stomach turn.
“Claire has no authority over that account.””
I stepped closer.
“Which account, Eric?””
He covered the microphone.
“Stay out of this.””
I reached for the phone.
He pulled it away.
“Richard, call me tomorrow.””
He ended the call.
For several seconds, the dining room remained silent.
Then Natalie asked, “What account?””
Eric looked at her.
“Nothing.””
I studied his face.
He was lying again.
And I had learned something important about Eric during our ten years together.
Whenever he said something was nothing, it usually meant he had just discovered a problem he couldn't explain away.
I closed the red folder.
“Mom, I think we should end dinner.””
My mother nodded numbly.
My father walked me toward the hallway.
As I reached for my coat, Natalie followed.
“Claire, wait.””
I turned.
Her makeup had begun to run. Her champagne glass was still sitting on the table, untouched.
“I need to ask you something.””
“What?””
She swallowed.
“Did Eric ever tell you about the money he borrowed from me?””
I stared at her.
“What money?””
Her eyes filled.
“Forty thousand dollars. I gave it to him last year. He said he needed it to cover a business emergency.””
My fingers tightened around my coat.
“He never mentioned that.””
Natalie looked toward the dining room.
“Because he told me it was supposed to be our secret.””
I almost laughed.
Another secret.
Another lie.
But then she said something that made me stop.
“He promised to pay me back before the divorce.””
I turned toward her.
“Before the divorce?””
She nodded.
“He said he had already arranged everything. He said the money would come from an account Claire didn't know existed.””
My heart began pounding.
I looked at the red file beneath my arm.
There was one bank account I hadn't been able to trace.
An account receiving money from Eric's company, then sending it overseas.
I had assumed it was a business account.
Now I wasn't so sure.
I took out my phone and called Richard.
He answered immediately.
“Claire, I was just about to call you.””
“Eric mentioned a frozen account. What account was he talking about?””
Richard paused.
Then his voice became very serious.
“Claire, there's something I haven't told you yet.””
“What?””
“Your husband has been moving money into an offshore account for almost two years.””
I gripped the phone.
“How much?””
“Just over eight hundred thousand dollars.””
The hallway seemed to tilt.
“And whose name is on it?””
Another pause.
Then Richard said:
“That's the problem. The account isn't registered to Eric.””
I looked through the doorway.
Natalie was watching me.
Eric was watching Natalie.
And suddenly, I understood that the affair was only the smallest part of what had happened.
May you like
Because the name on that account wasn't my husband's.
It was mine.
