Chapter 1 - THE HUSBAND HE NEVER EXPECTED ME TO MARRY
Marcus Mercer had spent five years believing that divorcing me was the greatest achievement of his life.
Thirty seconds after meeting my new husband, he began to realize how badly he had miscalculated.
My name is Evelyn Bennett, and the night my ex-husband tried to humiliate me at my cousin's wedding was the night his carefully constructed life began to unravel.
The reception was being held at the Grand Harrington Hotel outside Boston. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above the ballroom, and nearly three hundred guests had gathered to celebrate my cousin Olivia's marriage.
I had been enjoying myself until Marcus appeared beside the champagne table.
Chloe Vance stood beside him, wearing a glittering red dress and the expression of a woman who believed she had won a competition I'd stopped participating in years earlier.
"Well, look who survived," Chloe said.
I smiled politely.
"Good evening, Chloe."
Marcus looked at my navy dress, then at the simple wedding ring on my finger.
"I heard you disappeared after the divorce."
"I moved."
"Same difference."
He laughed and slipped his arm around Chloe's waist.
During our marriage, Marcus had controlled most of our finances while I worked as a compliance attorney. When I discovered his affair, he emptied our joint account and filed for divorce, assuming I would be too devastated to challenge him.
He had been wrong about that.
I hadn't spent the next five years waiting for him to regret his decision.
I'd rebuilt my career, moved to Boston, and eventually met a man who considered my intelligence something to appreciate rather than compete against.
Marcus leaned toward me.
"Leaving you was the smartest thing I ever did."
Chloe laughed.
Before I could answer, a familiar little voice rang across the ballroom.
"Mommy!"
My four-year-old daughter, Emma, raced toward me with her dark curls bouncing around her shoulders.
I crouched and caught her.
"Slow down, sweetheart."
She wrapped both arms around my neck.
"Dad and I have been looking everywhere for you!"
Marcus stopped smiling.
Then I saw Julian approaching.
Julian Rhodes.
Founder and chief executive of Rhodes Capital.
My husband.
And the man whose investment firm was currently evaluating a potential acquisition of Marcus's company, Mercer Financial Systems.
Julian carried Emma's tiny silver shoes in one hand.
"There you are," he said, kissing my temple.
Then he noticed Marcus.
His expression changed.
"Marcus."
Marcus stared at him.
"Mr. Rhodes?"
Julian offered his hand.
"I didn't realize you knew my wife."
Chloe's fingers tightened around Marcus's arm.
For several seconds, my ex-husband couldn't speak.
Then he looked at me.
"You're married to Julian Rhodes?"
"Yes."
Emma rested her head against my shoulder.
Julian gently brushed a curl from her face.
"We should get her shoes back on before she decides to dance barefoot again."
Our daughter giggled.
Marcus stared at the three of us as though he'd walked into the wrong room.
Then his confidence returned.
Or at least he tried to make it return.
"What a coincidence," he said. "Julian and I have been discussing a major transaction."
Julian's expression remained professional.
"Our teams are evaluating one."
Marcus smiled at me.
"Then I'm sure Evelyn has heard all about it."
"No," I answered.
His smile weakened.
Julian continued calmly.
"Evelyn doesn't participate in our acquisition decisions, particularly where her former marriage could create a conflict."
That wasn't entirely the answer Marcus wanted.
He'd been hoping to use my relationship with Julian as leverage.
Instead, he'd just learned that Julian respected professional boundaries Marcus had never understood.
Chloe tried to recover the conversation.
"Well, we should all have dinner sometime."
Emma suddenly lifted her head.
"Mommy, I want cake."
I smiled.
"Then let's get some."
Julian touched my back gently, and we turned toward the dessert table.
But before we could leave, Marcus caught my attention.
"Evelyn."
I looked back.
"Congratulations on marrying well."
I held his gaze.
"Thank you. I married someone who treats me well."
Then I walked away.
I thought that would be the end of the encounter.
I was wrong.
Twenty minutes later, Julian received a message from his head of acquisitions.
He read it once, then looked toward Marcus across the ballroom.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Julian hesitated.
"There's a problem with one of the documents Mercer submitted during due diligence."
"What kind of problem?"
He lowered his voice.
"It contains a compliance approval supposedly issued by you."
I stopped breathing.
"That's impossible."
Julian's expression hardened.
"The approval is dated three weeks after your divorce."
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And suddenly I understood that Marcus hadn't merely stolen money from our marriage.
Someone had continued using my professional identity long after I left him.
