Chapter 3 - Chloe Walks Into the Ballroom
Jennifer had imagined meeting Chloe dozens of times.
In every version, she had expected anger.
What she felt instead was surprise.
Chloe looked terrified.
Daniel saw her.
His reaction was immediate.
“What are you doing here?”
Every head turned toward the entrance.
Chloe did not answer him.
She walked toward Jennifer.
Her pregnancy was obvious beneath her gray coat.
The ballroom seemed to divide around her.
Some guests stared openly.
Others pulled out their phones.
Jennifer hated that part.
Whatever Daniel had done, this was still a human disaster unfolding in front of strangers.
Chloe stopped several feet from the table.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“Leave.”
Chloe looked at him.
“You told me you were going to tell her.”
“I said leave.”
Jennifer stood.
“Let her speak.”
Daniel turned.
“Jennifer, you don’t understand what she’s doing.”
“That sentence has stopped working.”
Chloe swallowed.
“I didn’t know about the money from Lily’s account.”
Jennifer studied her face.
“You knew he was married.”
Chloe looked down.
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Lily had just been born.”
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Jennifer’s voice stayed even.
“Then don’t ask me to believe you were innocent.”
“I’m not.”
Daniel muttered a curse.
Chloe looked at Jennifer again.
“But Daniel lied to me too.”
Daniel laughed sharply.
“Here we go.”
Chloe reached into her purse.
“I found something two weeks ago.”
Daniel moved toward her.
Robert stepped in front of his son.
“Don’t.”
Daniel froze.
Chloe pulled out a folded document.
“He told me Westbridge was his consulting company.”
Jennifer glanced at Robert.
Chloe continued.
“He said the money came from side projects.”
She handed Jennifer the paper.
It was a bank statement.
The balance made Jennifer’s stomach tighten.
$186,442.17.
Daniel had claimed they could not afford a night nurse.
He had argued with Jennifer over a $700 stroller.
Yet nearly two hundred thousand dollars had passed through a company he had never mentioned.
Jennifer looked up.
“What is this?”
Daniel’s face had become gray.
Chloe whispered.
“I think some of it belongs to his father.”
Robert took the statement.
His eyes moved rapidly across the page.
Then stopped.
“Daniel.”
Daniel said nothing.
Robert held up the paper.
“This transaction number is from Carter Development.”
Patricia stared at her husband.
“What does that mean?”
Robert looked devastated.
“It means the money came from my company.”
Daniel finally spoke.
“I can explain.”
Robert’s voice dropped.
“You stole from me?”
Several guests gasped.
Daniel shook his head.
“It was temporary.”
Jennifer felt the entire story shift beneath her feet.
This was no longer only about an affair.
No longer only about money taken from her daughter.
Daniel had apparently been stealing from his own father’s company.
Chloe stepped closer to Jennifer.
“There’s more.”
Daniel shouted.
“Stop talking.”
The room froze.
Chloe flinched.
Jennifer did not.
“What else?”
Chloe looked directly at her.
“He asked me to put my baby on a birth certificate with another man’s name.”
Jennifer stared.
“Why?”
May you like
Chloe’s answer came quietly.
“Because Daniel said if anyone proved the baby was his, it could destroy something much bigger than his marriage.”
