Chapter 4 - The Account I Wasn’t Supposed to SeeRebecca Sloan did not tell Dakota to confront Adam.
She told her to collect evidence.
“Once he knows you are aware,” the attorney explained, “documents may disappear, passwords may change, and money may move.”
They met in a quiet office overlooking downtown.
Dakota placed copies of Adam’s travel reports, credit card statements, and hotel receipts across the desk.
Rebecca examined each page.
“These expenses came from your joint account?”
“Some of them.”
“And the boutique?”
“I don’t know how he paid for it.”
Rebecca tapped a document Dakota had discovered inside Adam’s office.
“This concerns me more.”
It was a home-equity agreement for $240,000.
Dakota’s name appeared beside Adam’s.
So did her signature.
But Dakota had never seen the agreement before.
“That isn’t my signature,” she said.
“I believe you. The bank may require a formal handwriting review.”
“Can he take money against the house without me?”
“Not legally, if you are both on the title.”
Dakota felt sick.
She and Adam had paid off the house eighteen months earlier. She had worked holiday flights, overnight routes, and double schedules to eliminate the mortgage.
Adam had secretly placed the property back into debt.
Rebecca asked whether Dakota had access to Adam’s company records.
“No.”
“Do not attempt to break into anything. But if relevant documents are stored in a shared location or sent to a shared address, preserve them.”
When Dakota returned home, Adam’s office door was open.
His printer had run out of paper halfway through a job.
A red warning light flashed.
Dakota added paper to the tray.
The machine immediately printed seventeen pages.
She reached to collect them, expecting ordinary work reports.
Instead, the first page was titled:
Expense Reimbursement Investigation — Preliminary Findings.
Dakota read it twice.
Hawthorne’s internal compliance department had flagged Adam’s travel accounts. More than $86,000 in expenses lacked valid client documentation. Several trips had been billed to clients who had never requested meetings.
The final pages included an email Adam had drafted but apparently never sent.
He blamed the discrepancies on an assistant.
Dakota recognized the assistant’s name.
Maya Brooks was twenty-three years old and had worked at Hawthorne for less than six months.
Adam planned to sacrifice her career to protect himself.
Dakota photographed the pages and placed them beside the printer.
Then she checked the shared family tablet.
Adam had left his personal email account signed in.
Dakota did not open his messages.
She did not need to.
A notification preview appeared on the lock screen.
Trinity: I’m scared, but Adam promised his divorce was finalized before the baby arrives.
Dakota looked away.
The divorce was not finalized.
It had not even been discussed.
A second notification appeared.
Trinity: Did you transfer the remaining money for the store? The contractor says he’ll stop work tomorrow.
Dakota called Rebecca.
“He forged my signature to borrow against the house,” she said. “I think he used the money for her business.”
“Then we move now.”
Within forty-eight hours, Rebecca contacted the bank’s fraud department. Dakota froze her share of the remaining joint funds and opened an individual account for her salary.
She also contacted Hawthorne’s compliance officer.
She did not accuse Adam of having an affair.
She submitted only documents.
Dates.
Receipts.
Flight records.
Proof that the business travel he had claimed did not match actual departures.
The compliance officer thanked her and asked her not to alert Adam.
Dakota agreed.
On Friday evening, Adam returned from Denver carrying flowers.
He found her preparing dinner.
“These are for you,” he said.
Dakota accepted them.
“They’re beautiful.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind.
For years, that gesture had made her feel safe.
Now it felt like a man checking whether the door to his old life was still unlocked.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
May you like
Dakota looked down at the hands that had forged her name.
“I’m sure you have.”
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