Chapter 4 - the perfect wife
Daniel became kinder after Emily refused the postnuptial agreement.
The change was immediate and artificial.
He brought her breakfast in bed. He invited her to dinner. He suggested a weekend at a private resort where they had once celebrated their anniversary.
Emily recognized the strategy.
Daniel was not trying to repair their marriage.
He was trying to determine how much she knew.
During dinner at the resort, he poured champagne and asked about her work.
“You never talk about your clients,” he said.
“Confidentiality.”
“Are any of them large companies?”
“A few.”
“Anyone I would know?”
“Probably not.”
Daniel smiled.
“You know, you could work for Crosswell. We need someone with your attention to detail.”
“You said I didn’t understand the company.”
“I was angry.”
“You said I should remember my place.”
“I didn’t mean it.”
Emily took a sip of water.
“What position would I have?”
“We could create something.”
“With access to financial records?”
The smile remained on Daniel’s face, but his eyes changed.
“Why would you need that?”
“To do the job.”
“You are always interested in our financial records.”
“You’re the one offering me employment.”
Daniel leaned back.
“My mother thinks you married me because you hoped to gain access to the company.”
“What do you think?”
“I think everyone has a reason for doing what they do.”
“What was your reason for marrying me?”
He did not answer immediately.
“You were different.”
“Because you believed I had no money?”
“Because you weren’t part of our world.”
Emily looked around the restaurant. The resort staff knew Daniel’s name because Crosswell had once owned part of the property. Daniel interpreted recognition as respect.
He did not know the resort now belonged to a hospitality fund controlled by Bennett Strategic Capital.
Much of the world he claimed as his own was financed by Emily’s family.
“I never wanted your world,” she said.
Daniel reached across the table.
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“Sign the agreement.”
Emily withdrew her hand.
“No.”
His pleasant expression disappeared.
The performance had ended.
When they returned to the mansion, Vivian was waiting in the entrance hall.
She wore a silver evening dress even though she had not left the house.
“Did you have a lovely weekend?” she asked.
“Emily is still confused about the agreement,” Daniel said.
“I’m not confused.”
Vivian looked at her.
“Then you are being stubborn.”
“I’m protecting myself.”
“From your husband?”
“From anyone asking me to surrender my rights.”
Vivian stepped closer.
“You arrived in this family with nothing.”
Emily almost corrected her.
Instead, she smiled.
“That’s what you believe.”
Vivian studied her face.
For the first time, Emily saw suspicion.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t need anything from you.”
Vivian’s gaze moved toward Daniel.
“Search her background again.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“We already did.”
“Then do it properly.”
Emily walked upstairs without reacting.
Inside her office, she opened the secure monitoring portal.
The system had captured Vivian and Daniel speaking in the hall after Emily left.
Vivian’s voice came clearly through the recording.
“She knows something.”
Daniel replied, “She knows the numbers look wrong. She doesn’t know why.”
“Make sure of it.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Get access to her computer.”
“She’ll notice.”
“Then give her something else to worry about.”
The recording ended as they moved out of range.
Emily replayed the last sentence.
Give her something else to worry about.
The next morning, she received an email from a law firm representing Crosswell Development.
The letter accused her of accessing confidential corporate information without permission.
It warned that any documents in her possession belonged to Crosswell and demanded their immediate return.
Daniel entered her office while she was reading it.
“This is only a precaution,” he said.
“You sent lawyers after your wife.”
“You interfered with company matters.”
“I read a public report.”
“You discussed it with people.”
“With whom?”
“That is what I’d like to know.”
Emily closed the laptop.
“Are you asking whether I told someone Crosswell is in trouble?”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then why are you frightened?”
He placed both hands on her desk.
“This family gave you everything.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep forgetting.”
Emily looked at his hands, then at his face.
“I remember exactly what you gave me.”
She thought of the isolation, the insults, and the constant pressure to surrender pieces of herself.
Daniel mistook her silence for weakness.
He always had.
“You should also remember what happens to people who turn against us,” he said.
Emily leaned back in her chair.
“Is that a threat?”
Daniel straightened.
“It is advice.”
After he left, Emily saved the office recording.
Then she sent a copy to her mother.
Celeste called less than a minute later.
“That was a threat,” her mother said.
“I know.”
“You need to leave the house.”
“Not yet.”
“You have enough evidence to file for divorce.”
“This is bigger than the marriage.”
Celeste was silent.
Emily continued.
“They are moving company money through Vivian’s shell corporation. Daniel knows about it. They may be preparing to blame someone when Crosswell collapses.”
“And you believe that someone is you.”
“They are creating a record that says I accessed confidential information. If money disappears, they could accuse me of taking it.”
“Come home.”
Emily looked around the office.
“I am going to finish this.”
“You sound exactly like me at your age.”
May you like
“Is that a compliment?”
“No. It is a warning.”
