Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN BESIDE MY HUSBAND
Preston stayed in the hospital lobby for nearly two hours.
Security never allowed him upstairs.
He called.
He texted.
He accused me of manipulating Sadie.
Then, when anger failed, he changed strategies.
PLEASE, CLAIRE.
I MADE A MISTAKE.
LET ME SEE MY CHILD.
The shift would have worked on me once.
I knew that now.
A softer Preston had always appeared whenever the hard one went too far.
Apology without accountability.
Charm without truth.
Sadie slept through most of it.
Around noon, Margaret arrived.
She wore a charcoal suit and carried two phones, a leather folder and the expression of someone walking into war.
She hugged me first.
Margaret rarely hugged anyone.
Then she looked through the window at Sadie.
“How is she?”
“Better.”
“Good.”
She turned businesslike.
“Preston retained counsel.”
“That was fast.”
“He had a lawyer before today.”
My stomach tightened.
“For what?”
“Asset restructuring.”
“Of course.”
We sat in the family lounge.
Margaret placed several documents on the table.
“Marina Vale is real.”
“I assumed she was.”
“I mean the consulting business is legally registered.”
“And?”
“She owns it with her sister.”
I glanced down.
“Why would Preston pay her company almost two million dollars?”
“That’s what we’re determining.”
She pushed forward another page.
“And this is where things become stranger.”
A photograph.
Marina stood beside an older man at a charity gala.
I recognized him.
“Victor Vale.”
“Yes.”
My father’s former chief financial officer.
A man fired nine years earlier after an internal investigation.
“He was accused of moving company funds.”
“Never charged,” Margaret said. “Your father negotiated restitution quietly.”
“What does he have to do with Preston?”
“Marina is his daughter.”
I stared at her.
The affair was no longer just personal.
It had reached backward into my family.
“How long has Preston known her?”
“That’s the question.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Margaret nodded toward the phone.
“Answer.”
“Hello?”
A woman spoke.
“Claire?”
I recognized her voice although we'd never spoken.
Marina.
“Who is this?”
“You know.”
Margaret immediately began recording notes.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you that Preston is lying to both of us.”
I looked at Margaret.
“Go on.”
“He told me you were separated.”
Classic.
“He told me you lived separate lives and planned to announce it after your Boston trip.”
“How convenient.”
“He also told me Sadie was with your sister this week.”
I gripped the phone.
“I don’t have a sister.”
Silence.
Then Marina whispered, “Oh God.”
I believed that reaction.
Not because Marina was innocent.
But because Preston’s lie had surprised her.
“You were on my yacht.”
“I know.”
“With my husband.”
“Yes.”
“While my daughter was in intensive care.”
“I didn't know.”
“Yet you sent him messages saying everything would change after Boston.”
Another silence.
“How do you know that?”
“My daughter saw them.”
Marina exhaled.
“Claire, that wasn’t about leaving you.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What was it about?”
“The money.”
Margaret leaned closer.
“What money?”
Marina said, “Put me on speaker.”
I did.
“Who’s there?”
“My attorney.”
“Good.”
Marina took a breath.
“Preston told me he had uncovered evidence your father concealed money that belonged to my father.”
Margaret and I exchanged looks.
“He said he was helping recover it.”
“How much?”
“Four-point-eight million.”
The number hit the room like a dropped glass.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I expect you to believe Preston tells different stories to different women.”
Fair.
“Why were you on the yacht?”
“He said he was finalizing documents.”
“The ones giving him control of my assets?”
“I didn't know what they were.”
Margaret spoke.
“Ms. Vale, do you have written communication regarding those documents?”
“Yes.”
“Preserve everything.”
“I already have.”
“Why?”
Marina's voice became quiet.
“Because last night I realized Preston planned to blame me.”
“How?”
“I found an email he accidentally left open on his laptop.”
“What email?”
“One to his lawyer.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did it say?”
“He wrote that if the transfers were discovered, Vale Consulting had acted independently and without his knowledge.”
Margaret mouthed one word.
Perfect.
Marina continued.
“I left the yacht when we docked.”
“Where are you now?”
“A hotel.”
“Why call me?”
“Because I was stupid.”
Her voice cracked.
“But I’m not going to prison for your husband.”
The line went quiet.
Then she added:
“And because there is one more thing you need to know about the day Sadie got sick.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“What?”
“Preston knew she needed the hospital long before he took her.”
I stopped breathing.
May you like
“How do you know?”
“Because he told me.”
