Don’t Make a Drama, Her Husband Said — She Took Off Her Ring and He Froze!
Chapter 5
Thomas Reed told Claire everything he remembered.
Her mother, Sarah, had been investigating suspicious payments.
She had discovered that company funds were being diverted through shell businesses.
Her husband, Richard, had insisted everything was legitimate.
Sarah didn’t believe him.
She started copying records.
Then she told Thomas that she was afraid.
“Who was she afraid of?” Claire asked.
Thomas looked down.
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
He sighed.
“She mentioned a man named Victor Hale.”
Claire recognized the name.
Victor Hale was now one of the most powerful investors in the country.
He had recently joined the board of the company Evan worked for.
Claire’s stomach tightened.
“That’s impossible.”
Thomas nodded.
“Your mother knew him.”
“How?”
“He was an adviser to your father’s company.”
Claire looked at the old letter.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I promised your mother.”
“And after twenty-three years?”
“I was afraid.”
Claire understood.
Fear had controlled too many people.
Her husband.
Her family.
Her mother’s lawyer.
Everyone had been protecting themselves.
She drove home.
Evan was waiting.
“What happened?”
She told him.
When she mentioned Victor Hale, his face changed.
“You know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He’s on our board.”
Claire placed the letter on the table.
Evan read it.
“You should leave the house.”
“What?”
“Now.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor knows I found the old records.”
Claire stared.
“You’ve been watched?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know.”
Then they heard a car outside.
Headlights passed across the windows.
Evan immediately turned off the lights.
“Stay here.”
Claire grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
The vehicle stopped.
A man stepped out.
He approached the front door.
Then walked away.
Evan waited.
Five minutes later, the car drove off.
Claire exhaled.
“Who was that?”
“I don’t know.”
Evan called security.
Then he looked at her.
“We need to get you and Lily somewhere safe.”
Claire’s heart dropped.
“Lily.”
“She isn’t answering her phone.”
They called her school.
Lily had left twenty minutes earlier.
Claire immediately called her friends.
Nothing.
Then her phone rang.
It was Lily.
“Mom?”
Claire nearly collapsed with relief.
“Where are you?”
“At Aunt Rachel’s.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Stay there.”
“What’s happening?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Mom…”
“Please.”
Lily went quiet.
“Okay.”
Claire hung up.
Evan looked at her.
“We need to act now.”
“For the first time,” Claire said, “I agree.”
They spent the night in a hotel under an assumed name.
Claire barely slept.
At three in the morning, Evan woke her.
“I found something.”
“What?”
He handed her his laptop.
A financial record.
A payment from Victor Hale’s private fund to Evan’s company.
Then another.
Then another.
Claire stared.
“How long?”
“Years.”
“And your company?”
“Used as a channel.”
“For what?”
“Moving money.”
Claire looked at him.
“So this entire thing…”
“Yes.”
“Started with my father?”
Evan nodded.
“And continued with people who took his place.”
Claire stared at the screen.
Then at her wedding ring lying on the bedside table.
She hadn’t put it back on.
She wasn’t sure she ever would.
But tomorrow, she would make a choice that could destroy her husband’s career.
And possibly put both of them in danger.
