Chương 3
"You look exhausted," she said.
"I have a newborn."
"You also look like you haven't slept because you are investigating your ex-husband."
"That too."
She handed me the coffee.
"I brought decaf."
I looked at her.
"You know me too well."
"No."
She sat across from me.
"I know you too little, and that's the problem."
I raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you spent five years married to someone who convinced you that your entire identity was tied to whether you could give him a child."
The words hurt because they were accurate.
Claire opened the folder.
"The first thing we need to establish is whether your trust was actually involved."
She placed several printed documents on the table.
"I requested preliminary records through the proper channels."
I looked at the papers.
"You moved quickly."
"I dislike Julian."
That surprised a laugh out of me.
"You've never met him."
"I've read his emails during the divorce."
She paused.
"That was enough."
I looked through the documents.
Most of it was familiar.
Company registrations.
Financial statements.
Ownership records.
Then I saw a name I didn't recognize.
Sterling Advisory Holdings.
My fingers stopped moving.
"What is this?"
Claire leaned forward.
"That's what concerns me."
The company had been created eighteen months before my divorce.
The listed address was not Julian's office.
It wasn't connected to his family.
It was connected to a private investment group.
"Why is my family name on this?"
"We don't know yet."
I looked at her.
"How do we find out?"
"We don't rush."
I hated that answer.
I hated that adults always said patience when they were afraid.
Claire noticed my expression.
"Genevieve, I know that look."
"What look?"
"The one where you decide you can handle everything alone."
I looked away.
She wasn't wrong.
Julian used to say that was my biggest flaw.
That I believed I didn't need anyone.
The cruel part was that after years of being disappointed, independence had started to feel safer than trust.
"I need to attend the wedding," I said.
Claire immediately shook her head.
"No."
"I wasn't asking permission."
"That's exactly why I said no."
I stared at her.
"The invitation came from him."
"Yes."
"He expects me to be emotional."
"Probably."
"He expects me to be broken."
Claire said nothing.
"And he invited everyone connected to his company."
"Genevieve."
"If something is happening, I need to see it."
Claire leaned back.
"You want to walk into that room."
"Yes."
"Why?"
I looked at the photo drawer where my old life was hidden.
"Because for once, I don't want to be the person who leaves without knowing the truth."
Claire studied me.
Then she slowly nodded.
"Fine."
I blinked.
"Fine?"
"I said I don't like the idea."
"That sounds different."
"It is."
She closed the folder.
"You can go."
I waited.
"There is always a condition."
"Of course."
"You don't go there as Julian's ex-wife."
I frowned.
"Then who do I go as?"
Claire looked toward Amelia sleeping in her carrier beside the couch.
"You go as the woman who finally stopped letting him define her."
The wedding was seven weeks away.
Seven weeks to understand why Julian's company name was attached to my inheritance.
Seven weeks to uncover what he had hidden.
And seven weeks before I would stand in the same room as the man who thought he had already written the ending of my story.
The week before the wedding, Julian's name appeared in my life more often than I wanted.
A former neighbor sent me a message asking if I had seen the announcement online.
A college friend sent flowers for Amelia and added a note that simply said, "I hope you know you deserve better."
I appreciated the kindness, but it also reminded me how quickly private pain became public entertainment.
People loved simple stories.
A husband leaves.
A wife suffers.
A new woman appears.
Everyone picks a side.
The truth was always more complicated.
I spent most of those seven weeks doing something I hated.
Waiting.
Claire investigated quietly through attorneys and financial professionals, but every answer created another question.
Sterling Advisory Holdings had no obvious connection to me.
That was the problem.
If Julian had stolen money directly, the situation would have been easier to understand.
Instead, everything existed in a gray area.
A company with my family name.
Transactions that passed through accounts connected to businesses Julian controlled.
Documents signed by people I had never heard of.
Nothing was simple enough to confront.
Nothing was clean enough to ignore.
One afternoon, while Amelia slept against my shoulder, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.
I almost let it go to voicemail.
Then I saw the area code.
It was from the same city where Julian's corporate headquarters were located.
I answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice responded.
"Is this Genevieve Sterling?"
"Yes."
"My name is Rachel Porter."
The name meant nothing to me.
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
There was a pause.
"I used to work for Vance Global Enterprises."
The way she said used to made me sit up.
"Why are you calling me?"
"Because I saw the wedding invitation."
My hand moved instinctively toward Amelia's back.
"How?"
"Julian sent it to employees and partners."
That bothered me.
Not because he invited people.
Because he had created an audience.
A performance.
A public celebration of a story he wanted everyone to believe.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Rachel lowered her voice.
"I think Julian used your family's trust to hide money."
The room became silent.
I looked around my apartment.
The same apartment where I had spent months rebuilding a life after losing the one I thought I had.
"Do you have proof?"
"No."
The honesty surprised me.
"I have suspicion."
"Why tell me?"
Another pause.
This one lasted longer.
"Because I should have said something earlier."
I waited.
"I worked in finance at Vance Global for four years."
May you like
"Okay."
"Three years ago, I noticed unusual transfers."
