Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN MY WIFE TRUSTED MORE THAN ME
Jonathan Pierce's wife was named Rebecca.
I'd known her for fourteen years.
She was quiet.
Elegant.
A former federal financial investigator who rarely discussed her career.
At company dinners, she sat beside Jonathan and smiled politely while executives talked about stock prices and acquisitions.
I'd never paid much attention to her.
Claire had.
Apparently, they'd been working together for months.
I called my attorney.
“Why is Claire meeting Rebecca Pierce?”
He paused.
“Mr. Knox, your wife's private communications aren't yours to investigate.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Someone sent me a photograph of them.”
“That is concerning. Share it with the authorities. But don't assume the meeting itself was improper.”
He was right.
I hated how often people were right about me lately.
I forwarded the photograph.
Then I waited.
For once, I didn't send security teams to follow my wife.
I didn't demand access to her phone.
I didn't call Rebecca's husband.
I sat in my office and tried to remember when I'd started believing money gave me the right to know everything.
Two hours later, Rebecca called me herself.
“Adrian.”
Her voice was calm.
“We need to talk.”
“About Jonathan?”
“Yes.”
I closed my office door.
“Is he involved with Marcus?”
She exhaled.
“I believe so.”
“Then why didn't you come to me?”
“I tried.”
My stomach tightened.
“When?”
“At Claire's request, I attended your foundation meeting in April.”
I remembered.
Barely.
I'd left twenty minutes early because Sienna wanted to meet me at a hotel.
Rebecca continued.
“I attempted to show you irregularities in the accounts.”
I stared at the desk.
“And?”
“You told me to speak with Jonathan.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course I had.
She'd been trying to expose her husband.
And I'd sent her straight back to him.
“Claire believed you wouldn't listen,” Rebecca said quietly.
“She was right.”
The words hurt.
But I didn't argue.
Rebecca continued.
“Your wife discovered Jonathan had been redirecting charitable grants. She collected records and contacted me because I had experience with financial investigations.”
“Why didn't she tell me everything?”
“She tried, Adrian.”
I looked toward the framed wedding photograph on my desk.
Claire smiling.
My arm around her waist.
A man standing beside a woman he had stopped seeing.
Rebecca's voice softened.
“Claire also found something else.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“A document linking Sienna Vale to Marcus Sterling.”
“I know about that.”
“No. You know they're connected.”
She paused.
“You don't know why Marcus chose her.”
I swallowed.
“Tell me.”
“Sienna wasn't randomly recruited.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Then what?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Her mother worked for Knox Dynamics twenty years ago.”
I stared.
“So?”
“She was dismissed after an internal investigation.”
I frowned.
“What investigation?”
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“An investigation into an industrial accident.”
My heart began pounding.
May you like
Then she said:
“Adrian, Sienna's father died in a factory owned by your company.”
