Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO PLANNED TO REPLACE MY WIFE
Tessa Vaughn had never loved me.
The realization came slowly.
Then all at once.
Every expensive dinner.
Every whispered compliment.
Every carefully timed argument about Corinne.
Every time Tessa told me my wife was cold, distant, or ungrateful.
She hadn't been comforting me.
She'd been separating me from my family.
And I'd made it easy.
I remembered Tessa lying beside me in a luxury hotel suite.
"Grant, don't you ever wonder what life would be like with someone who truly understands you?"
I'd smiled.
"Sometimes."
She'd kissed my shoulder.
"Maybe you deserve a fresh start."
At the time, I thought she was talking about love.
Now I wondered whether she was talking about ownership.
Detective Reed examined the emails.
"According to these messages, Victor and Tessa discussed using a divorce to gain leverage over your financial holdings."
I frowned.
"How?"
"Your company is vulnerable to certain partnership provisions. A costly divorce combined with an ownership dispute could have created opportunities for Victor to acquire controlling interests."
Rebecca, my attorney, nodded.
"Especially if Grant signed the restructuring documents Victor prepared."
My stomach sank.
"I nearly signed them."
Rebecca looked at me sharply.
"When?"
"Before I left for the coast."
She stared.
"Did you sign anything?"
"Not the final agreement."
"Why not?"
I swallowed.
"Corinne asked me to wait."
Silence.
My wife had saved my company while I was planning a vacation with my mistress.
Rebecca exhaled.
"Then she may have prevented a much larger loss."
I looked down.
"I told her she was overreacting."
Nobody responded.
There was nothing to say.
That afternoon, investigators executed search warrants at several properties connected to Victor.
Financial records were seized.
Electronic devices collected.
Employees interviewed.
And Tessa's consulting company became a central focus of the investigation.
By evening, the media had picked up the story.
KEATON DEVELOPMENT LINKED TO MAJOR FINANCIAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION.
My phone rang nonstop.
Investors.
Executives.
Journalists.
People who'd praised me for years suddenly demanded explanations.
I ignored most calls.
Then one name appeared.
Tessa Vaughn.
I stared at the screen.
Detective Reed had advised me not to contact her.
So I didn't answer.
A message arrived.
Grant, sweetheart, we need to talk.
Another.
Victor is trying to blame me for everything.
Then:
I love you. You know that, don't you?
I looked at the words.
For almost a year, I had mistaken attention for devotion.
Now I could see the manipulation.
I forwarded the messages to investigators.
Then I blocked her number.
Minutes later, Mrs. Pearl entered my office.
"Mr. Keaton?"
I looked up.
"Yes?"
"Someone left this at the front gate."
She handed me a small package.
No return address.
Inside was a silver baby rattle.
Owen's initials were engraved on the handle.
I recognized it immediately.
My mother had given it to us before Owen was born.
Corinne had kept it in the nursery.
I stared.
"Where did this come from?"
Mrs. Pearl shook her head.
"I don't know."
Beneath the rattle was a note.
Your wife thinks she's hidden well.
My blood turned cold.
May you like
I read the next sentence.
BUT SHE DOESN'T KNOW HER OWN SISTER HAS BEEN TELLING US WHERE SHE GOES.
