Chapter 6 - THE TRAP CLOSES
I arrived at my house at 7:30 PM. I left all the lights off except for a single lamp in the living room. I sat on the sofa, the leather ledger resting on the coffee table in front of me, the sapphire necklace cold against my skin.
At exactly 7:55, a car pulled into the driveway. But it wasn't Madison.
It was Ryan.
He burst through the front door, breathless and frantic. His tie was gone, his shirt unbuttoned. The arrogant smirk from the anniversary party had vanished, replaced by sheer, animal panic.
He stopped dead when he saw me sitting in the semi-darkness.
"Claire," he breathed, running a hand through his hair. "What are you doing here? Where is... did you take something from my office?"
"You mean the forged loan documents on my house?" I asked calmly. "Yes. I have those."
"Claire, listen to me," he started pacing, his hands trembling. "You don't understand. I was drowning. Three years ago, I made some bad crypto investments. I lost half our savings. I was terrified to tell you. Madison... she had connections. She set up the LLC to help me recoup the losses through company vendor contracts. It was only supposed to be temporary!"
"You stole from your company," I said, disgusted. "You stole from me. You pawned my grandmother's necklace to her."
Ryan finally noticed the sapphire resting on my chest. His knees practically buckled. "How did you... the deposit box. Claire, please. You have to give me the ledger. If David finds out, I'll go to federal prison. Please, I am begging you. I'm your husband!"
"You told me to go to hell," I reminded him softly. "With your hand on her back."
"I was protecting you!" he lied, desperate. "If people thought we were estranged, they wouldn't tie you to the fraud!"
"Stop." I stood up. "Stop lying, Ryan. It's pathetic."
Suddenly, the front door clicked open.
Madison walked in. She was wearing a sleek designer trench coat, looking every bit the ruthless businesswoman, until she saw me standing there instead of Ryan.
"What is she doing here?" Madison snapped, glaring at Ryan.
"She's here," a new voice echoed from the hallway, "because she invited me."
David stepped out of the shadows of the dining room. Behind him stood a man in a dark suit—corporate security.
Ryan let out a choked gasp, backing up against the wall.
"Madison Hale," David said, his voice like cracking thunder. "I believe you have some consulting deliverables to show me. Or perhaps we should just hand this ledger to the authorities right now."
Madison’s confident facade shattered. She looked at Ryan, then at me, realizing instantly that she had walked into an ambush.
"He made me do it!" Madison shrieked, pointing at Ryan. "It was his idea! He forced the contracts through!"
"I have it in writing that she demanded a twenty percent cut," Ryan yelled back, throwing her completely under the bus.
I just watched them tear each other apart. The man I had loved for ten years, and the woman who thought she had won a prize.
May you like
"They're both yours, David," I said quietly, picking up my purse.
"Claire, wait!" Ryan lunged forward, grabbing my wrist. His grip was tight, desperate. "You can't leave! Your name is on the house loan! If I go down for fraud, the bank takes the house! You'll be ruined too!"
