Chapter 3 - THE FIANCÉE WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
Dalia Fontaine had worn my humiliation like a diamond necklace.
For two years, she'd smiled beside Julian while newspapers described me as the wife who couldn't give him children.
And all that time, she had known the truth.
I stood from the conference table.
"Where is she?"
Gabriel gently touched my arm.
"Khloe."
"I'm not going to hurt her."
"I know."
"Then don't ask me to hide."
He stepped aside.
"All right."
I walked back into the ballroom.
The gala had resumed, but the atmosphere had changed.
People were whispering.
Phones were lighting up.
Julian stood near the champagne bar, speaking sharply to Dalia.
When he saw me approaching, he stopped.
"Khloe."
I looked directly at Dalia.
"How long have you known?"
Her expression tightened.
"Known what?"
I held up the document.
"The medical records."
Julian reached toward me.
"That's enough."
I stepped back.
"Don't touch me."
Several nearby guests turned.
Dalia looked at the papers.
Then at Julian.
"I don't know what she's talking about."
I felt something inside me become strangely calm.
"The clinic's payment records have your signature."
Her face drained of color.
Julian moved closer.
"Khloe, you're embarrassing yourself."
I almost laughed.
There it was.
The same sentence he'd used whenever I asked uncomfortable questions.
Whenever I cried.
Whenever I suspected something was wrong.
You're embarrassing yourself.
Not tonight.
I looked at him.
"Do you know what's embarrassing, Julian?"
His expression darkened.
"Having to manipulate medical records because you were too cowardly to admit you wanted a divorce."
A sharp silence spread around us.
Someone gasped.
Dalia looked toward the photographers.
"Julian, do something."
But Julian didn't move.
Because for the first time, I wasn't begging him to love me.
I was making him face what he'd done.
Gabriel approached quietly.
"Khloe, your attorney is on the phone."
I glanced at him.
"My attorney?"
He nodded.
"Rachel received the documents Dr. Carter's legal team submitted."
I turned away from Julian.
But he grabbed my wrist.
"You're not going to destroy my reputation over an old marriage."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Let her go."
The two men stared at each other.
Julian slowly released me.
I looked down at my wrist.
Then back at him.
"You destroyed our marriage, Julian. I'm only telling the truth."
I walked away.
Behind me, Dalia began arguing with him.
Their voices grew louder.
But I didn't look back.
In the hallway, Rachel Pierce, my attorney, appeared on Gabriel's phone.
"Khloe, we need to talk."
"About the records?"
"Yes. But there's something else."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
Rachel hesitated.
"During your divorce, Julian submitted a confidential financial declaration."
"And?"
"He claimed a significant portion of your marital assets had disappeared because of business losses."
I remembered.
Julian had insisted there was nothing left to divide.
I'd been too exhausted to fight.
Rachel continued.
"We've discovered those losses were fabricated."
I closed my eyes.
"How much?"
A pause.
Then she answered.
"Forty-eight million dollars."
My breath caught.
But the next sentence was even worse.
"Khloe, the missing money wasn't transferred to Julian."
I stared at the screen.
"Then where did it go?"
May you like
Rachel looked grim.
"Into an account opened using your identity."
