Chapter 4
The payments went to three different companies.
After digging a bit, I found out all three were registered under Dale's relatives.
What a perfect team Barry and Dale made.
I took screenshots of all the records and sent them to my personal email.
Then I shut down my laptop and leaned back in my chair.
That was four million dollars.
All in all, with the house, the car, and living expenses, that was almost six million dollars.
And that was only what I could track down.
What about the things I couldn't find?
I closed my eyes, my mind racing.
I couldn't afford to wait any longer.
If I waited any longer, who knew how much more he would take?
*****
The next day, I made a decision.
I was going to lock down all the company's most valuable clients for myself.
Over the years, I was the one managing our biggest accounts, while Barry was in charge of internal operations and the tech team.
In other words, the clients trusted me, not Barry.
That was my trump card.
At ten in the morning, I called our three biggest clients one by one.
"Mr. Stephens, are you free next week? I'd like to take you out to dinner and discuss our cooperation plans for next year," I said.
"Mr. Aguirre, there's a new project I'd like to run by you. Would you have time to meet?" I asked.
"Mr. Mays, it's been a while since we last caught up. Want to grab a coffee sometime?" I suggested.
All three clients agreed immediately.
These people had been working with me for years. Our relationship went far beyond ordinary business dealings.
They trusted me and respected my abilities.
If I ever left this company, they'd come with me.
Barry knew that.
That was why he never dared to come clean with me.
He wasn't afraid of divorce. He was afraid that the company would collapse after the divorce.
But what he never saw coming was that wrecking the company was what I wanted now.
That afternoon, Karl sent me the asset restructuring plan.
I looked it over, pointed out a few things that needed fixing, and told him to redo it.
At the same time, I started laying the groundwork for something else.
I set up a brand-new company.
Officially, Ashlyn was listed as the owner, not me.
But behind the scenes, I was the one pulling all the strings.
This company was going to scoop up all my clients and my core team.
When the time was right, I would drain the old company dry and let the new company take its place.
Barry and his illegitimate children could fight over an empty shell.
*****
On Friday night, Barry came home unusually early.
I was lounging in the living room, browsing on my tablet, when he came over and sat down beside me.
He said, "Gwen."
I replied, "Yeah?"
"Can we talk?" he asked.
I didn't look up. "What do you want to talk about?"
Barry was silent for a few seconds. "Have you been upset with me about something lately?"
I said, "No."
He asked, "Then why—"
"Barry." I finally looked up at him. "If you have something to say, spit it out."
Barry swallowed hard, his lips parted, then snapped shut.
Finally, he muttered, "It's nothing. You seem tired lately. Take care of yourself, okay?"
He couldn't say it.
Barry was dying to ask if I knew, but he couldn't get the words out.
Because if I said yes, he'd have to deal with everything that came next.
And he wasn't ready to face the consequences.
"I'm fine," I said, looking back down at my tablet. "You should get some rest."
Barry sat there for a while, then finally got up and headed to the guest room.
His footsteps faded away down the hallway.
I set my tablet aside and stared in the direction he had gone.
Barry, did you think that if you just kept quiet, this would all go away?
You were wrong.
Every day that passed, I got more prepared.
When I was ready, you wouldn't even get a chance to beg for mercy.
*****
On Monday, I got a new message from Ashlyn.
Ashlyn: [I got Dale's bank records for the past three years. Guess how much he transferred to Blair?]
I replied: [How much?]
Ashlyn: [Nine million dollars.]
I stared at the number, my fingers tingling.
That was over three million more than I had estimated.
Ashlyn texted: [One more thing. Blair checked out a villa last week. It's up in the north part of the city. It costs four million dollars.]
I replied: [Is she going to buy it?]
Ashlyn: [Still negotiating. But the real estate agent said she's very interested.]
A villa worth four million dollars.
And she was still spending the money Barry and I had worked to earn together.
I took a deep breath, trying to push down my emotions.
I texted: [Ashlyn, can you help me arrange to meet Blair?]
Ashlyn replied: [What?]
I replied: [I want to see her.]
Ashlyn was quiet for a few seconds. [Are you sure?]
I replied: [I'm sure. I'm not going there to start a fight. I only want to see her.]
Ashlyn: [Well, let me see what I can do.]
Three days later, Ashlyn set up a "chance encounter."
It was at the baby store on the third floor of Westroads Mall.
Blair always brought her kid here every Wednesday afternoon.