Don’t Make a Drama, Her Husband Said — She Took Off Her Ring and He Froze!
Chapter 3
Evan returned ten minutes later.
Claire was waiting.
“What does ‘everything’ mean?”
He closed the door.
“You shouldn’t have seen that photograph.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
“No.”
He rubbed his face.
“I need to leave.”
“Where?”
“For work.”
“You’re running.”
“I’m protecting you.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“You cheated on me and now you’re protecting me?”
“Listen to me.”
He stepped closer.
“There are people involved who aren’t going to care whether we’re married.”
Claire’s anger faded.
“What people?”
Evan wouldn’t answer.
She noticed something.
His wedding ring.
He was still wearing it.
After everything, he still hadn’t removed it.
“Who is Jessica?”
“She works for me.”
“You were sleeping with her.”
“Yes.”
The honesty shocked Claire.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“I was weak.”
Claire shook her head.
“You weren’t weak. You were selfish.”
Evan accepted the words.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“Then tell me the truth.”
He hesitated.
Finally, he said:
“Three months ago, I discovered financial fraud inside the company.”
Claire stared.
“What kind?”
“Millions were being moved through fake vendors.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“And Jessica?”
“She was helping me investigate.”
Claire’s expression changed.
“Then why were you in a hotel?”
Evan closed his eyes.
“Because someone was watching.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He walked toward his study.
“I expect you to believe that I made a terrible mistake while trying to uncover something dangerous.”
Claire followed.
“Then why did you lie?”
“Because I was scared.”
“For yourself?”
“For you.”
She stopped.
Evan opened a hidden compartment behind a shelf.
Inside were encrypted drives and documents.
Claire had never seen them.
“This is what I’ve been investigating.”
She looked at the files.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because if you knew, you could become a target.”
“You already made me one.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Claire picked up one folder.
“What does this have to do with me?”
Evan didn’t respond.
She opened it.
Her heart stopped.
Inside was an old photograph.
Her father.
Standing beside Evan’s father.
And beside them was the chairman of the company Evan currently worked for.
Claire stared at the picture.
“What is this?”
Evan’s voice became quiet.
“Your father wasn’t the honest businessman you thought he was.”
Claire looked at him.
“My father died ten years ago.”
“I know.”
“He built this family company.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Evan swallowed.
“He was involved in the original fraud.”
Claire stepped back.
“No.”
“There are records.”
“No.”
“I spent years believing he was innocent.”
“And now you think he wasn’t?”
Evan nodded.
Claire felt as if the floor had disappeared.
Her father had always been her hero.
The man who taught her to work hard.
The man who built their family business.
The man who had told her never to lie.
Now Evan was telling her that the foundation of her entire family history was a lie.
Then Claire noticed a document beneath the photograph.
It was dated twenty-three years earlier.
And it had her own father’s signature.
But there was something even stranger.
Her mother’s name appeared on the page too.
Claire looked up.
“Why is my mother’s name here?”
Evan went silent.
Because he knew the answer.
And Claire was about to discover that her mother had not died by accident.
