Chapter 4 - Nine O'Clock
By sunrise, Blake had not slept.
At 8:58 a.m., he entered Winslow Development headquarters looking like a man who had aged ten years overnight.
At 9:00, Daniel Mercer arrived with six attorneys and three forensic accountants.
At 9:03, Blake signed the access authorization.
At 9:05, the investigation began.
Vanessa did not come to work.
Her company phone had been turned off.
Her apartment was empty.
But she had made one mistake.
She had assumed deleted files disappeared.
They did not.
By noon, Rachel's team recovered emails linking VRC Strategic to inflated consulting invoices.
By three, they found unauthorized transfers.
By five, they found something worse.
Blake had signed several approvals.
He insisted he had not understood what they were.
That might have been true.
It also might not save him.
Evelyn spent the day at Fairchild headquarters.
Sophie colored pictures in a nearby office while Evelyn met lawyers.
At six, Lenette arrived without an appointment.
“You need to stop this.”
Evelyn looked up.
“Stop what?”
“Destroying my son.”
Evelyn almost laughed.
“You haven't asked what he did.”
“I don't care.”
“That may be the problem.”
Lenette leaned over the desk.
“You deceived us.”
“How?”
“You hid your money.”
“I never lied about having a private family trust.”
“You let Blake believe—”
“I let Blake believe exactly what he wanted to believe.”
Lenette's expression hardened.
“You think because you're rich, you're better than us?”
Evelyn stood.
“No. I think the way you treated me when you believed I wasn't rich tells me everything I need to know.”
Lenette had no answer.
Evelyn walked around the desk.
“You insulted me for years. You criticized my clothes, my education, my family, the way I raised Sophie. Last night you deliberately broke a bowl and ordered me to clean it.”
Lenette looked away.
“You enjoyed believing I had no power.”
Silence.
“Now you're angry because you discovered I did.”
Lenette left without another word.
That evening, Daniel brought Evelyn the latest forensic report.
“We found a second beneficiary.”
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Blake.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Directly?”
“Not exactly. A trust scheduled to activate after Project Crown closed.”
“Does that prove he knew?”
“No.”
“Then don't treat it as proof.”
Daniel studied her.
“You're still protecting him.”
“No.”
Evelyn looked through the window.
“I'm protecting the truth.”
That distinction mattered.
She would not become cruel simply because cruelty had been shown to her.
At 10:30, Blake appeared at Fairchild headquarters.
Security called upstairs.
Evelyn nearly sent him away.
Then she remembered eight years of marriage.
“Five minutes,” she said.
He entered alone.
No tuxedo.
No confidence.
No Vanessa.
“I didn't know about the stolen money,” he said.
Evelyn remained silent.
“I knew Project Crown would benefit me. I knew there was a side vehicle. I told myself it was normal deal structuring.”
“Was it?”
“No.”
“Why did you sign it?”
“Because I wanted more.”
The admission surprised her.
Blake sat down.
“I kept thinking if I got one more building, one more investor, one more headline, I'd finally feel successful.”
“And did you?”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I cheated on you.”
“Yes.”
“I humiliated you.”
“Yes.”
“I let my mother humiliate you.”
“Yes.”
His eyes reddened.
“And every time I became successful, you were the person making it possible.”
Evelyn's voice was quiet.
“That isn't why what you did was wrong.”
“I know.”
“If I really had been an ordinary housewife with no money and no connections, would I have deserved what you did?”
Blake closed his eyes.
“No.”
That was the first correct answer he had given her.
Evelyn slid a document across the desk.
Blake looked down.
Divorce petition.
His face collapsed.
“Evelyn.”
“I won't use Fairchild to punish you personally. The company investigation will follow the evidence. Our marriage is separate.”
He touched the paper.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes.”
Hope appeared in his eyes.
“Tell the truth.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
Blake nodded slowly.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Vanessa's voice came through.
“Blake, don't trust Evelyn.”
His eyes lifted.
Vanessa continued.
“Because Fairchild isn't the only secret in your marriage.”
May you like
The line went dead.
And across the desk, Evelyn realized from Blake's expression that the story was far from over.
