Chapter 2 - The Message Nobody Was Supposed to See
Daniel grabbed for the phone.
Robert reached it first.
“Dad.”
Robert read the message.
His face lost all expression.
“Is Chloe’s baby yours?”
Daniel looked at Jennifer.
That was all the answer she needed.
Patricia began shaking her head.
“No.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“It’s complicated.”
Jennifer laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“Is that what you call it?”
Daniel turned toward her.
“I was going to explain.”
“When?”
Jennifer pointed toward his phone.
“Tonight?”
Daniel said nothing.
Jennifer suddenly understood Chloe’s message differently.
Daniel had planned something.
The party had not simply been a display of his perfect family.
It had been a stage.
“What were you going to tell me tonight?”
Daniel glanced toward the guests.
Jennifer stood.
“What were you going to tell me?”
He whispered.
“Can we please go somewhere private?”
“No.”
Patricia whispered Daniel’s name.
He ignored her.
Jennifer felt the room closing around them, but instead of panic, she felt clarity.
She had spent months believing she knew the shape of Daniel’s betrayal.
Now she realized she had only found the first layer.
The hotel banquet manager approached carefully.
“Mr. Carter, we still need the balance settled.”
Daniel snapped.
“Not now.”
Jennifer looked at the manager.
“I will not be paying it.”
The manager nodded awkwardly and stepped away.
Daniel glared at Jennifer.
“You’re embarrassing me.”
Jennifer stared at him.
“You brought your mistress to medical appointments while I was six months pregnant.”
She gestured around the ballroom.
“You did the embarrassing part yourself.”
Robert opened the folder again.
He was not looking at Daniel anymore.
He was studying the bank statements.
“What is this account ending in 7714?”
Daniel’s head jerked toward him.
Jennifer noticed.
“That reaction tells me I should have asked the same question.”
Robert turned the page toward her.
Several transfers had gone through an account Jennifer did not recognize before reaching Chloe.
The amounts were larger than the ones she had already found.
$9,000.
$12,500.
$6,000.
Jennifer felt cold.
“These weren’t in the joint account records I downloaded.”
Daniel took one step backward.
Robert looked at his son.
“Where did this money come from?”
Daniel remained silent.
Patricia stared at him.
“Daniel?”
Jennifer reached for the page.
At the bottom was the name of a small consulting company.
Westbridge Advisory LLC.
She had never heard of it.
Robert apparently had.
His expression darkened.
“You told me Westbridge was inactive.”
Jennifer looked between them.
“What is Westbridge?”
Daniel spoke too quickly.
“Nothing.”
Robert ignored him.
“It was a company Daniel started while working for me.”
Jennifer turned to Daniel.
“You own another company?”
“Owned.”
Robert’s voice became colder.
“Apparently not.”
Daniel looked trapped.
Jennifer’s phone vibrated inside her handbag.
She almost ignored it.
Then it vibrated again.
She pulled it out.
An unknown number had sent one sentence.
YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF WHAT DANIEL DID.
A second message followed.
IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT LILY, LEAVE THE BALLROOM WITHOUT HIM.
Jennifer stared at the words.
Then she looked across the room.
Near the hotel entrance stood a woman in a gray coat.
Pregnant.
May you like
Watching her.
Chloe.
