Chapter 4 - My Sister's Version
Hailey came to my office two days later.
Alone.
I almost refused to see her.
Then Evelyn said, "Hear what she knows."
So I did.
Hailey sat across from me in the conference room wearing jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt.
No wedding dress.
No ring.
At least not on her finger.
"I didn't know," she whispered.
I didn't rescue her from the silence.
She swallowed.
"Trevor told me you were divorced."
"You were sleeping with my husband."
"We weren't sleeping together at first."
"That sentence doesn't improve anything."
She looked down.
"He said you hadn't loved each other for years."
"And you believed him?"
"He showed me documents."
There it was.
"What documents?"
"Divorce papers."
"With my signature?"
She nodded.
"Did you ever ask me?"
"No."
"Why?"
Her eyes filled.
"Because I wanted it to be true."
Finally.
The first honest thing she'd said.
Trevor had started messaging her eight months earlier.
Compliments.
Advice.
Coffee.
Then lunches.
He told Hailey I was cold.
Obsessed with work.
Controlling.
He said he'd built my firm with me and I had cheated him out of ownership.
"He said after the divorce he'd get half," Hailey whispered.
"Half of what?"
"Everything."
I leaned back.
"He told you that?"
"He said the company was worth hundreds of millions."
"And?"
"He said we'd start over."
"With my money."
She cried harder.
I didn't.
Then she told me something important.
Trevor had promised her the Palisades estate.
"He said you hated the house."
I almost laughed.
I had designed the renovation myself.
Hailey reached into her bag.
"I brought this."
A phone.
"Trevor has another messaging account."
My attention sharpened.
"How do you know?"
"I saw it open once."
She unlocked the phone.
Screenshots.
Dozens.
Messages between Trevor and someone saved as G.
Dates stretching back more than a year.
One caught my eye.
Need dissolution entered before next funding round. She can't know.
Another:
Once status changes, we move assets.
Then:
Father-in-law nervous. Keep him calm.
I looked up.
"Where did you get these?"
"I photographed Trevor's laptop while he was showering."
"Why?"
"Because after the deputies came, he started blaming me."
Of course he did.
Hailey wiped her face.
"He said if anyone asks, I pressured him into Vegas."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Did you know he was still living with me?"
She hesitated.
"Yes."
That hurt more than I expected.
I nodded.
"Then don't ask me to tell you you're innocent."
"I'm not."
Good.
Another honest answer.
I handed the phone to Evelyn.
She examined the screenshots.
Then stopped.
"Claire."
She turned the screen.
A message from G.
Transfer authorized. $780K first. Remaining after filing accepted.
Seven hundred eighty thousand dollars.
I stared at Hailey.
"Do you know what this means?"
She shook her head.
But Evelyn did.
"So do I," I whispered.
Someone hadn't merely fabricated a divorce.
Someone had expected money afterward.
May you like
And suddenly this wasn't about Trevor leaving me.
It was about what he planned to take before he left.
