Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO NEEDED MY HUSBAND
Victoria Hale had spent seven months asking my husband to rescue her.
A rehearsal crisis.
A medical appointment.
An argument with her manager.
A performance she was too frightened to attend alone.
Every emergency required Ethan.
Every problem demanded his immediate attention.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether her crises had been emergencies at all.
Or whether they had been carefully timed distractions.
Samuel's investigation uncovered payments from Northstar Development Services to Hale Performance Management.
Some were labeled promotional consulting.
Others were classified as event coordination.
But Victoria wasn't an event coordinator.
She was a former professional dancer attempting a comeback after a serious knee injury.
And several payments had no clear business explanation.
The total exceeded $600,000.
I sat across from Samuel, staring at the figures.
"Why would a construction vendor pay Victoria?"
"That's what we need to establish."
"Could she have legitimate contracts?"
"Possibly. But the documentation we've reviewed is incomplete."
I closed the folder.
"Does Ethan know?"
Samuel studied me.
"That's a question you should let the investigators pursue."
I nodded.
My marriage had already taught me the danger of assuming I knew what Ethan was thinking.
That afternoon, I met my divorce attorney, Rachel Monroe.
She was a sharp, composed woman in her early forties.
After reviewing the petition and listening to my concerns, she looked directly at me.
"Claire, your husband cannot unilaterally prevent you from seeking a divorce."
I exhaled.
"He thinks his family name changes that."
"It doesn't."
I almost smiled.
Then Rachel asked about the threats.
I told her everything.
The words.
The blocked doorway.
The way Ethan kept ignoring my requests for distance.
Rachel wrote carefully.
"We'll document those incidents and establish appropriate communication boundaries."
I nodded.
"And the financial investigation?"
"Keep it separate from the divorce, except where relevant. We don't want anyone claiming you're using allegations to gain leverage."
I appreciated that.
For the first time in weeks, someone was treating me like an adult capable of making decisions.
When I left Rachel's office, a black SUV was parked near my car.
A woman stood beside it.
Tall.
Elegant.
Blonde.
Victoria Hale.
My stomach tightened.
She smiled when she saw me.
"Claire."
I stopped.
"What do you want?"
Her expression softened into something almost sympathetic.
"I heard about your father. I'm so sorry."
I stared at her.
"Are you?"
She looked offended.
"Of course."
"You had Ethan with you when Dad died."
Victoria lowered her eyes.
"He insisted on staying."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Did he?"
She looked up.
"Claire, I never asked him to neglect you."
I laughed.
"Then why did you call him every time something went wrong?"
"Because we've always been close."
"Close enough to accept my husband as your personal emergency service?"
Her smile disappeared.
"You don't understand our history."
"You're right."
I stepped closer.
"And I no longer want to."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"Ethan will never forgive you for humiliating him with a divorce."
I stared.
"Forgive me?"
She lifted her chin.
"He's a Carter. Public scandals have consequences."
I felt something inside me settle.
There it was.
The real Victoria.
Not fragile.
Not frightened.
Not a helpless woman recovering from an injury.
A woman who believed my marriage existed only as long as Ethan permitted it.
I walked toward my car.
Then Victoria called after me.
"You should be careful with your father's old papers."
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
"What did you say?"
She smiled faintly.
"Grief makes people desperate to find someone to blame."
My heart pounded.
"How do you know about Dad's papers?"
For the first time, Victoria looked uncomfortable.
Only briefly.
Then she shrugged.
"Ethan mentioned them."
But I knew that was a lie.
Because I hadn't told Ethan about the envelope Samuel gave me.
May you like
And before Victoria climbed into her SUV, she delivered one final warning.
"Your father should have stopped investigating when he had the chance."
