Chapter 3
Serena stared at Julian.
“What?”
He immediately shook his head.
“That’s not what it looks like.”
I laughed.
“Apparently that sentence is hereditary.”
Eleanor glared at me.
Serena stepped toward Julian.
“I never received four hundred thousand dollars.”
He lowered his voice.
“Serena, calm down.”
“No.”
She grabbed her phone.
“I want to see the transfer.”
Rachel emailed the bank record.
Serena opened it.
Her expression changed.
The account was under Serena Blake Holdings.
She looked at Julian.
“That isn’t my company.”
I turned toward her.
“You don’t own Serena Blake Holdings?”
“No.”
Julian rubbed his face.
“Can we not do this here?”
I stared at him.
“You forged my signature, borrowed against my house, and created a company in your mistress’s name.”
“She wasn’t my mistress when the company was formed.”
That sentence made the room silent.
Serena looked at him.
“When was it formed?”
Rachel answered through the speaker.
“Three years ago.”
Julian and I had been married four.
Serena’s face went cold.
“You’ve been using my name for three years?”
Julian looked trapped.
“I was protecting an investment.”
“From who?”
“My business partners.”
Eleanor stepped between them.
“This conversation is over.”
I looked at her.
“No. It’s finally starting.”
Rachel searched the business registry.
Serena Blake Holdings owned thirty percent of Vale House LLC.
But the formation documents contained an address Serena had never used.
Eleanor’s address.
Julian had created a fake company under Serena’s name, then used it to hide ownership.
“What exactly is Vale House?” I asked.
Julian said nothing.
Serena answered.
“Luxury senior housing.”
Eleanor snapped, “You know nothing about it.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“I helped design the marketing campaign.”
I looked at her.
“You worked with them?”
She nodded.
“Julian hired my agency last year.”
That was how their affair restarted.
Or supposedly restarted.
I couldn’t trust either of them.
Rachel interrupted.
“Vale House has a serious problem.”
“What?”
“There’s an active civil lawsuit.”
Julian closed his eyes.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“For what?”
“Construction defects.”
“How serious?”
“Three residents were injured after a balcony railing failed.”
Eleanor immediately said, “Nobody died.”
I stared at her.
“That’s your defense?”
“It was a contractor issue.”
Rachel kept reading.
“The plaintiffs allege Vale House management received engineering warnings months earlier.”
I looked at Julian.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
Eleanor said, “Of course he didn’t.”
Serena laughed.
“Yes, he did.”
Julian whipped around.
“Stop talking.”
She crossed her arms.
“You forwarded me an email about delaying repairs until refinancing.”
My skin went cold.
Julian stepped toward her.
“That email was confidential.”
“So it exists.”
He realized his mistake too late.
Rachel heard everything.
“So did I,” she said.
Julian stared at my phone.
“Hang up.”
“No.”
“I’m your husband.”
“Not for long.”
His face twisted.
Then Serena held up her phone.
“I still have the email.”
Eleanor lunged toward her.
“Delete it!”
Serena stepped back.
“Why?”
I looked at Eleanor.
“You knew too.”
Her silence answered me.
Then the front door opened downstairs.
A man called Julian’s name.
Eleanor went completely pale.
Julian whispered, “Who invited him?”
I stepped into the hallway.
A gray-haired man stood in my living room holding a legal folder.
Serena recognized him first.
“That’s Martin Shaw.”
“Who?”
“The engineer who warned Julian about the balcony.”
Martin looked directly at me.
“Are you Claire Hale?”
“Yes.”
May you like
He held out the folder.
“Your husband has been forging your name on more than property documents.”
