Chapter 2 - The Morning After
At 7:15 AM, Ethan woke up in our Tribeca penthouse with a heavy hangover and a supreme sense of self-satisfaction.
He didn't know I hadn't come home. He assumed I was sleeping in the guest room, crying into a pillow, waiting to apologize to him for "embarrassing" him in front of Warren Pike. He spent twenty minutes in front of the bathroom mirror, carefully knotting his silk tie, practicing the humble yet confident posture he planned to use at the 9:00 AM strategy meeting where he expected his promotion to be announced.
He poured himself a espresso, picked up his leather briefcase, and took a private car to Northstar Capital.
When he arrived at the 45th floor at 7:55 AM, he noticed something strange. The floor was eerily quiet. The usual morning chatter among traders was absent. His assistant, Jenny, wasn't at her desk.
Ethan frowned, adjusting his cuffs. He assumed everyone was already gathered in the main boardroom to celebrate his big day. He walked down the carpeted hallway, smiling broadly, and pushed open the heavy mahogany doors of Boardroom A.
The room was packed.
Sitting at the center of the massive glass conference table was Warren Pike. Surrounding him were six members of the Board of Directors, two senior partners, and three men in dark suits holding leather legal pads—Northstar’s primary corporate defense counsel.
Ethan’s smile widened as he stepped inside. "Good morning, Warren! Gentlemen! I see we're starting early today. I have the quarterly projections ready on my drive—"
"Shut the door, Ethan," Warren Pike said.
His voice wasn't warm. It was devoid of any emotion whatsoever.
Ethan’s steps hesitated. He looked around the room. None of the board members were smiling. Some looked at him with cold detachment; others looked at him like he was a stain on the carpet.
"Warren?" Ethan chuckled nervously, closing the door behind him. "Did something happen with the Asian markets?"
"Sit down," Warren commanded, pointing to the lonely leather chair at the far end of the table.
Ethan sat, his collar suddenly feeling a little too tight. "Look, if this is about last night at the rooftop... I apologize if my personal affairs spilled over. Claire was being difficult, but I handled it. It won't happen again."
Warren Pike leaned forward, placing his elbows on the glass table. "You're right, Ethan. It won't happen again."
Warren clicked a remote on the table. The large digital screen on the wall flickered to life.
Ethan’s heart dropped into his stomach.
Projected in high-definition was a detailed flow chart of Northstar’s Cayman island accounts. Arrows pointed directly to Ethan’s employee ID number, tracking every single illegal wire transfer executed over the last six months. Below that was a copy of the wire transfer into the Swiss account, along with decrypted emails to Apex Global.
Ethan’s face went chalk-white. The hangover vanished instantly, replaced by a wave of nauseating terror.
"This... this is a mistake," Ethan stammered, his hand shaking as he pointed at the screen. "This is fake! Someone hacked my account! Someone is setting me up!"
"We spent six months believing someone was hacking our systems, Ethan," Warren said softly. "So the board hired an outside firm to find out who was doing it."
The side door of the boardroom opened.
I walked into the room wearing a sharp charcoal-gray tailored pantsuit, my hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. My lower lip was slightly bruised, but my posture was erect, commanding, and absolute. I carried a black leather binder under my arm.
Ethan’s mouth fell open. His eyes darted from my face to the binder, and back again.
"Claire?!" Ethan gasped, standing up so fast his chair screeched against the hardwood. "What the hell are you doing here?! This is a high-level executive meeting! Get the hell out before—"
"Sit down, Mr. Vance," the lead corporate counsel barked. "And do not address the Lead Auditor of Vance Financial Intelligence in that tone."
Ethan blinked, completely disoriented. "Lead... lead auditor? What are you talking about? She's my wife! She doesn't work here!"
I walked up to the head of the table, set my binder in front of Warren Pike, and looked directly into Ethan’s trembling eyes.
May you like
"I haven't been just your wife for a long time, Ethan," I said, my voice cutting through the silent room like polished glass. "I was retained by Northstar’s Board of Directors six months ago to investigate internal corporate fraud. And as of 11:00 PM last night, my audit was officially completed."
Ethan stared at me, his lungs searching for air as the full, horrifying reality of his situation crashed down on his head.
