Chapter 4 - The Company Behind the Affair
The party ended without music.
Guests left in small groups, whispering in the hallway.
Jennifer stayed only long enough to collect Lily from her mother.
Daniel tried to follow.
Robert stopped him.
“You are not going anywhere with her tonight.”
Daniel stared at his father.
“She’s my wife.”
Jennifer adjusted Lily’s blanket.
“Not for much longer.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Jennifer.”
She walked away.
Her mother, Susan, drove them home.
Jennifer sat in the back seat beside Lily and watched the city lights slide past the window.
For months she had prepared herself for divorce.
She had not prepared for fraud.
At home, Susan settled Lily into the bassinet.
Jennifer immediately called her attorney, Rachel Monroe.
Rachel answered on the third ring.
“You said emergency.”
Jennifer looked at the folder on her kitchen table.
“I think my husband stole money from his father’s company.”
There was a pause.
“Start from the beginning.”
Jennifer told her everything.
The unknown account.
Westbridge.
Chloe.
The message.
The hidden transfers.
When she finished, Rachel’s tone had changed.
“Do not delete anything.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not confront Daniel about the company.”
“He already knows I saw it.”
“That’s different.”
Rachel continued.
“And do not let him near your laptop, your phone backups, or Lily’s documents.”
Jennifer looked toward the hallway.
“Why Lily’s documents?”
“Because people who hide money sometimes move assets through family members.”
Jennifer felt sick.
“She’s three months old.”
“That doesn’t stop financial fraud.”
An hour later, Daniel arrived.
Jennifer saw him through the door camera.
He rang the bell.
Then knocked.
Then called.
She did not answer.
His texts changed tone every few minutes.
WE NEED TO TALK.
YOU HUMILIATED ME.
CHLOE IS LYING.
MY FATHER IS OVERREACTING.
DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID.
The last message made Jennifer almost laugh.
At 1:12 a.m., Daniel finally left.
At 1:26 a.m., Rachel called again.
“I ran Westbridge.”
Jennifer sat up.
“And?”
“It is still active.”
Jennifer stared at the dark kitchen.
Rachel continued.
“Daniel owns eighty percent.”
“Who owns the other twenty?”
“That’s the problem.”
Jennifer’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Who?”
Rachel said a name Jennifer recognized immediately.
Patricia Carter.
Daniel’s mother.
Jennifer slowly looked toward Lily’s room.
Patricia had spent the entire evening looking shocked.
She had acted betrayed.
She had whispered that she knew nothing.
But according to the corporate registration, Daniel’s mother had been tied to Westbridge for nearly five years.
May you like
Rachel spoke carefully.
“Jennifer, I don’t think Daniel was hiding this alone.”
