Chapter 5 - The Trap
I didn't sleep that night.
At 5:30 a.m., I made a list.
People I trusted.
People I didn't.
Assets.
Accounts.
Contracts.
Employees.
Evidence.
By sunrise, I had a plan.
But Bradley had one too.
At 9:00 a.m., he announced that he wanted to “save our marriage.”
He brought flowers.
A diamond bracelet.
And breakfast.
I almost laughed.
“You're giving me gifts?”
“I want to make things right.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
I looked at the flowers.
Then at him.
“Okay.”
He smiled.
“Okay?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“We can fix this.”
I nodded.
“Maybe.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“Really?”
I smiled.
“But first, I want to know something.”
“What?”
“What happens to the company if we divorce?”
His face tightened.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Curiosity.”
He laughed nervously.
“You're overthinking.”
“Probably.”
He kissed my forehead.
I let him.
Then I watched him leave.
As soon as the door closed, I called Olivia.
“He took the bait.”
“What did he say?”
“He thinks I'm staying.”
“Good.”
We spent the next six hours executing our plan.
First, I moved the company's voting shares into a protected trust.
Then I froze every unauthorized transfer.
Then Olivia filed a legal notice challenging the Meridian acquisition.
But there was one problem.
Elena.
If she controlled the internal accounting system, she could still damage us.
At 4:00 p.m., I called her into my office.
She walked in smiling.
“Maddie.”
“Sit down.”
She did.
I placed a folder on the desk.
“What's this?”
She opened it.
Her smile vanished.
Rachel's records.
Photographs.
Transactions.
Emails.
Her hands began shaking.
“I can explain.”
“I don't want an explanation.”
She looked at me.
“I was pressured.”
“By whom?”
“Barbara.”
“Bradley?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Did he know about Rachel?”
Silence.
That was enough.
“You helped him.”
Elena began crying.
“I didn't want anyone hurt.”
“You stole from my company.”
“I was scared.”
“So was Rachel.”
Elena covered her face.
“I can testify.”
I stared at her.
“Against them?”
She nodded.
“What do you want?”
“Protection.”
I leaned back.
“You'll get it.”
She looked relieved.
But then the office door opened.
Bradley stood there.
He looked at Elena.
Then at me.
His face changed.
“You've been talking to her.”
I stood.
“Yes.”
He walked inside.
“Why?”
I smiled.
“Because she finally told me the truth.”
He looked at Elena.
“You said you wouldn't.”
She began crying.
Bradley turned toward me.
“You have no idea what you're doing.”
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
He stepped closer.
“You think you can destroy my family?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You destroyed your family.”
He slapped the desk.
“You ungrateful—”
The door opened again.
Two federal agents entered.
Bradley's face went pale.
One agent held up a warrant.
“Bradley Ashford, you're being questioned regarding financial fraud and unlawful transfer of corporate assets.”
He stared at me.
“You called them?”
“No.”
I smiled.
“Rachel did.”
He didn't understand.
I held up the hard drive.
“Her evidence has been in federal hands since this morning.”
Bradley looked at Elena.
Then me.
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
His voice became low.
“You'll regret it.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“I regretted marrying you.”
Then I walked away.
But before the agents took him, Bradley turned.
“Maddie!”
I stopped.
His expression had changed.
He wasn't angry anymore.
He looked terrified.
“Ask Barbara about the warehouse.”
I frowned.
“What warehouse?”
He smiled bitterly.
“The one where she kept everything.”
Then he was gone.
I looked at Olivia.
“What warehouse?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
That night, Barbara disappeared.
So did the company's original financial records.
And at midnight, my phone received a photograph.
A warehouse.
A red door.
May you like
And a message:
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY BRADLEY MARRIED YOU.
