Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN I BOUGHT AN $11.8 MILLION HOME
The photograph of Sienna standing beside Marcus Sterling made my stomach turn.
Twelve years earlier, Marcus had been my closest friend.
We built Knox Dynamics together in a cramped office above a Chicago hardware store.
Then he tried to sell our proprietary technology to a competitor.
I discovered the scheme.
He was removed from the company.
And he swore that one day he'd take everything I'd built.
Now he was standing beside my mistress.
The woman for whom I'd abandoned my wife during childbirth.
I called Sienna.
She answered on the third ring.
“Baby?”
Her voice sounded warm.
Familiar.
Suddenly, I hated how familiar it sounded.
“Who is Marcus Sterling?”
Silence.
Then she laughed softly.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Adrian, I don't know what you're talking about.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Don't lie.”
She sighed.
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Did Claire finally leave?”
The question made my blood run cold.
“How did you know?”
Another silence.
Then Sienna said something that made me grip the phone harder.
“You should come back to Miami.”
“Answer my question.”
“Adrian, you're upset.”
“My twins were born while I was with you.”
She didn't apologize.
Instead, she said, “Claire always knew how to make you feel guilty.”
I closed my eyes.
For four months, I'd accepted statements like that.
Claire was dramatic.
Claire was demanding.
Claire didn't understand me.
Sienna did.
Or so I'd believed.
“Did Marcus pay you to approach me?”
Sienna's voice sharpened.
“You're making accusations.”
“Then deny it.”
She didn't.
I felt something inside me collapse.
“Sienna?”
Finally, she whispered, “We need to talk in person.”
“No.”
“Adrian—”
“Don't contact Claire. Don't contact my children.”
I ended the call.
Then I called Daniel.
“Secure the company's systems. Preserve everything. Bring in outside counsel and a forensic audit team.”
He hesitated.
“Sir, there's something else.”
“What?”
“Claire requested copies of several company records three months ago.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“She said there were irregularities in the charitable foundation.”
I frowned.
The Knox Family Foundation had been Claire's project.
For years, she'd managed scholarships, children's hospitals, and grants for struggling families.
I rarely attended meetings.
I signed whatever she placed in front of me.
“She found fraud?”
Daniel nodded.
“Possibly.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“She tried.”
I stared at him.
“When?”
“March seventeenth. She scheduled dinner to discuss it.”
I remembered that night.
Sienna had called, complaining that her apartment was too small.
I'd canceled dinner.
Claire had eaten alone.
Daniel placed another folder on my desk.
“Your wife continued investigating without you.”
I opened it.
There were wire transfers.
Fake invoices.
Shell companies.
And one recurring payment.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars every month.
Recipient: Sterling Strategic Holdings.
I stared at the page.
“Marcus.”
Daniel nodded.
Then I saw the authorization signature.
My own.
But I had never signed those documents.
I looked up.
“Who approved these?”
Daniel swallowed.
“The digital credentials were yours.”
My stomach tightened.
May you like
Then he added:
“And the last authorization was submitted from Sienna's Miami penthouse while you were asleep.”
