Chapter 9 - What Adam LostThe investigation lasted nine months.
Hawthorne discovered that Adam had submitted fraudulent expenses for twenty-seven trips. He had billed clients for meetings that never happened and used company funds for hotels, meals, jewelry, and flights with Trinity.
Maya Brooks, the assistant Adam had planned to blame, was cleared.
Hawthorne promoted her and issued a formal apology.
The bank’s handwriting expert confirmed that Dakota had not signed the home-equity agreement.
Adam eventually admitted he had copied her signature from an insurance document.
His attorney negotiated an agreement requiring him to repay the disputed funds and surrender several assets. He avoided a longer legal battle by pleading guilty to charges connected to financial fraud and identity theft.
His executive career ended.
The divorce was less dramatic than the flight.
Adam arrived at mediation wearing an inexpensive suit and no watch.
Dakota sat across from him beside Rebecca Sloan.
For the first time since their marriage began, Adam had nothing she wanted.
He no longer controlled the conversation.
He no longer controlled the money.
He no longer controlled the story.
“I lost everything,” he said during a break.
Dakota looked through the conference-room window.
“No. You spent everything.”
He flinched.
“I loved you.”
“You loved what I provided.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“I paid the mortgage while you built your career. I hosted your clients, corrected your reports, and rearranged my schedule whenever you needed me. Then you used my work to convince another woman that I had abandoned you.”
Adam looked down.
“I made mistakes.”
“You made plans.”
He rubbed his hands together.
“Trinity won’t speak to me except through an attorney.”
Dakota said nothing.
Trinity had given birth to a healthy daughter three months after the flight. She had moved in with her sister and closed the boutique.
Through her lawyer, Trinity returned the diamond necklace and several other gifts. The items were sold to repay part of the fraudulent loan.
Adam was allowed to request visitation, but Trinity insisted on formal arrangements and supervised meetings until he demonstrated stability.
He had lost the fantasy of beginning again with a younger woman who believed every word he said.
But Dakota knew Trinity and the baby were not punishments.
They were people who would have to rebuild their lives too.
The final settlement restored the house entirely to Dakota. Adam’s retirement account and remaining investments covered most of the outstanding debt.
He signed the papers slowly.
Before leaving, he stopped beside Dakota.
“Was it worth it?”
She looked at him.
“Was what worth it?”
“Humiliating me on the plane.”
Dakota considered the question.
“I didn’t choose the plane. You did.”
“You could have confronted me privately.”
“And you could have told me the truth privately.”
He looked away.
“Do you ever miss me?”
Dakota thought about the man who had carried her suitcase through the rain. The man who once waited outside an airport at midnight with hot coffee after her flight was delayed.
Perhaps those memories were real.
But so were the forged signature, the stolen money, and the months of deception.
“I miss who I believed you were,” she said.
Adam nodded as if the answer hurt more than anger.
Then he walked away.
Dakota watched the elevator doors close behind him.
She expected to feel victorious.
Instead, she felt light.
May you like
Victory required an opponent.
Adam was no longer important enough to be hers.
