Chapter 4
Chapter 04
David reached out to snatch the phone.
Linda was faster. She knocked his hand away. "What are you grabbing for?"
The recording kept playing.
Rachel let out a soft laugh.
"Honestly, Emily is kind of pitiful. Staying home, raising the kid, and she really thinks she's Mrs. Stone," Rachel said in the recording.
Another voice, low and gruff, came through.
It was David.
"Don't bring her up," he said.
Rachel asked, "What about me? What am I to you?"
David was silent for a few seconds.
"Once the project goes through, I'll give you an answer," he said.
The recording stopped there.
The only sound in the living room was the ticking of the clock.
David's face was deathly pale.
Linda stared at him, as if she was seeing her son for the first time.
I set the phone down.
"What kind of answer are you talking about?" I asked.
David's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Emily, that was just drunk talk," he said.
"And sharing a room with her, was that just drunk talk too?" I shot back.
"I didn't touch her," he said.
"That's not what I asked," I said.
He froze.
I looked at him.
"What I'm asking is, you used my money to fund her lifestyle. You took the trust I gave you and made her promises. And now you expect me and your mom to apologize to her?" I asked.
David tugged at his tie, looking annoyed.
"Do you have to say it like that?" he snapped.
Linda suddenly cut in. "Harsh?" she echoed.
She jabbed a finger at David.
"Isn't what you did even uglier?" she demanded.
David lowered his voice.
"Mom, you don't understand Rachel. She's been working late with me, going to all those business dinners, helping me out with all the drinking. She may not have made any big achievements, but she's worked hard," David said.
Linda let out a cold laugh.
"So that's why all her hard work landed her in your bed?" she asked coldly.
David's face turned ashen.
"Do you have to be so vulgar?" he snapped.
Linda was trembling with rage.
I stood up and steadied her.
"Mom, sit down," I said.
Then I turned to David.
"We're having an emergency shareholders' meeting at nine tomorrow morning," I said.
David stared at me.
"What are you trying to do?" he asked.
"We're going to audit the books, suspend you, and fire Rachel," I said.
He shot back, "That's not happening."
I nodded.
"Then we'll call the cops," I said.
David froze.
I opened the folder and laid out the expense reports one by one.
"Fake reimbursements and embezzling company funds totaling more than 100,000 dollars. You signed off on every single one, David. You're not walking away from this," I said.
His swagger faded.
"Emily, we're husband and wife," he said.
I looked at him.
"From the moment you let her sit at the head of the table, you stopped treating me like your wife," I said.
He fell silent.
Tears streamed down Linda's face.
She quickly wiped them away, her voice turning cold.
"Emily, don't waste your breath on him. Do what you have to do," she said.
David stared at Linda, completely stunned.
"Mom, I'm your son," he said.
Linda looked up.
"That's exactly why I'm even more ashamed," she said.
Her words hit him harder than any slap.
David stood there, his chest rising and falling with every breath.
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, it was Rachel.
He didn't answer.
The phone rang again.
Linda fixed her gaze on him.
"Pick it up," she ordered.
David didn't move.
I reached over and hit the answer button for him.
Rachel was sobbing, barely able to catch her breath.
"Mr. Stone, I'm pregnant," she blurted out.
David froze.
Linda's head snapped up.
I didn't move.
On the other end, Rachel kept going, "The baby's yours. If you fire me, I'll post the test results online for everyone to see."
She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"And the shares you promised me, it's about time you delivered, isn't it?" she added.