Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE EMPIRE
Parker spent the next week uncovering documents Connor had never bothered to read.
Investment agreements.
Trust schedules.
Corporate filings.
Loan guarantees.
Shareholder agreements.
Every document told the same story.
Connor's company had never truly belonged to Connor.
My family trust had provided the original capital.
The controlling shares were held through a holding company established before our wedding.
And I was the sole beneficiary.
Connor's name appeared everywhere.
But legally, he was standing on land he didn't own.
Parker looked almost amused.
"He really thought he was a self-made man."
"He did."
"He told investors that?"
"Constantly."
Parker shook his head.
"That's going to be awkward."
I smiled.
"Especially at his wedding."
Parker looked at me.
"You've decided to attend?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
I picked up Brinley's bottle.
"Because he invited the wrong woman to watch him celebrate."
Three weeks later, Connor's wedding invitations went public.
The photographs showed him beside Alyssa.
She wore an expensive white dress.
Her hand rested protectively over her stomach.
Betsy's caption read:
Our family is finally getting the grandson we've always deserved.
Thousands of people congratulated them.
I read the comments silently.
Then one appeared from a woman I didn't recognize.
Some people deserve everything coming to them.
I clicked her profile.
Nothing.
No photographs.
No information.
Just a recently created account.
Parker investigated.
The account was connected to an IP address associated with Connor's office.
I stared at the screen.
"They're trying to provoke me."
"Probably."
"Why?"
Parker's expression became serious.
"Maybe they're afraid you're going to discover something."
That sentence stayed with me.
The next morning, I received another envelope.
No return address.
Inside was a single photograph.
Connor.
Alyssa.
And another man.
Standing together outside a fertility clinic.
The photograph was dated two months before Alyssa announced her pregnancy.
On the back someone had written:
Ask Alyssa who paid for the appointment.
I stared at the photograph.
Parker immediately called his investigator.
But before he could finish the call, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
"Don't trust the pregnancy."
Then the line went dead.
I sat completely still.
Brinley began crying.
I picked her up.
"Mommy's here."
She quieted against my shoulder.
I closed my eyes.
For the first time, I realized this wasn't simply a divorce.
May you like
Someone had built a much larger lie.
And Connor was only one piece of it.
