My Ex-Husband Became My Boss | He Left Me 5 Years Ago, Now He Wants Me Back
Chapter 5
Richard Hale was supposed to be dead.
Emma stared at the photograph.
The man looked older.
Gray hair.
Different clothes.
But the face was unmistakable.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said he died.”
“That’s what the records say.”
“Then who took this?”
Alexander turned the photograph over.
A location was written on the back.
A private investment firm in Boston.
Emma looked at the date.
Three weeks earlier.
“This is recent.”
“Yes.”
“So he’s alive.”
“Probably.”
“What do we do?”
“We find him.”
They traveled to Boston the next morning.
Emma expected excitement.
Instead, she felt numb.
The investment company was called Northbridge Capital.
Richard was not listed as an employee.
But a receptionist recognized his photograph.
“He was here last week.”
Emma’s heart pounded.
“Do you know where he went?”
The receptionist hesitated.
“I’m not supposed to say.”
Alexander placed a business card on the desk.
The receptionist looked at it.
Then said:
“He rented an office two floors above us.”
They found the office empty.
But there were documents.
Photographs.
Financial records.
And a file labeled:
EMMA CARTER.
Emma stared.
Inside were details about her life.
Her job.
Her apartment.
Her friends.
Even her daily schedule.
She felt sick.
“How long has he been watching me?”
Alexander looked at the dates.
“Five years.”
Emma closed the file.
“He never stopped.”
They found another document.
A list of payments to multiple people.
One recipient stood out.
Emma’s former lawyer.
She recognized the name.
“He represented us during the divorce.”
Alexander nodded.
“Exactly.”
Emma felt betrayed all over again.
“Our divorce was manipulated.”
“Yes.”
“Was the agreement even legal?”
Alexander opened the original contract.
A hidden clause had been inserted.
If either party attempted to contact the other directly, financial penalties would apply.
Emma laughed.
“We both signed this.”
“You trusted the lawyer.”
“And you.”
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“Did you know about the clause?”
“No.”
They continued searching.
Then they found a voice recording.
Richard’s voice.
He was speaking to someone.
“Keep them apart.”
The other person asked:
“For how long?”
“Until the company transfer is complete.”
Emma froze.
“What transfer?”
Alexander opened another file.
A corporate acquisition.
The target was a technology company owned by Emma’s father.
The company had hidden intellectual property worth hundreds of millions.
Her father had tried to expose the fraud.
Richard wanted the technology.
Alexander had refused to participate.
That was why he had been threatened.
And Emma had been collateral.
“He didn’t leave because he didn’t love me.”
“No.”
“He left because someone used me.”
“Yes.”
Emma wiped away a tear.
Then she asked:
“Did you ever stop loving me?”
Alexander didn’t hesitate.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Then why didn’t you fight harder?”
“I did.”
“How?”
“I spent five years trying to find the people behind it.”
“You could have told me.”
“I couldn’t find a safe way.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“I know.”
Emma walked to the window.
“You should have trusted me.”
“Yes.”
She turned.
“I’m still angry.”
“You should be.”
“But I don’t hate you anymore.”
Alexander looked relieved.
Then the office door clicked.
Someone was outside.
Alexander stepped in front of Emma.
“Stay behind me.”
The door opened.
A man stood there.
Richard Hale.
Alive.
He smiled.
“Alexander.”
Then he looked at Emma.
“I see she finally knows.”
