Chapter 2
Lionel's company had three other partners. Lionel held 35% of the shares, the other two minor shareholders each owned 15%, and the rest was held by Hector Mitchell.
Hector Mitchell.
Julia Mitchell.
It was the first time I'd ever put those two last names together.
My heart suddenly thudded in my chest.
I didn't dare ask any more questions.
I was afraid I couldn't keep a straight face.
"You should get some rest. I'm going to take a shower," I said.
The bathroom door closed, and the sound of the shower drowned out everything else.
I took out my phone, my fingers still wet, and opened social media.
I typed "Julia Mitchell" into the search bar.
There were no results.
I switched to another platform, but still nothing.
It was like she'd materialized out of thin air, with no digital footprint at all.
Either she was extremely low-key, or she was deliberately hiding.
It wasn't a good sign.
The water crashed down, so hot it sent tingles through my scalp.
I made a decision.
I wouldn't ask him.
I'd find out for myself.
*****
The next morning at work, the break room was filled with the scent of freshly ground coffee.
My colleague Celia Morris came over with her mug.
"Shannon, you still don't look well. Maybe you should see a doctor?" Celia said.
"It's nothing. I just didn't sleep well last night," I replied.
I really hadn't slept well.
I spent the whole night thinking about Julia.
I carried my coffee into my office and closed the door.
After finishing my morning work, I pulled up the photo of the plane tickets I'd snapped earlier on my phone.
Beside the ticket number, there was a tiny note: frequent flyer number.
I entered that number into the airline's official website membership system.
Member name: Lionel Wright.
Mileage balance: 2000 miles.
The account had been pretty much drained.
I pulled up the points redemption history.
Over the past year, this account had been used to book four flights.
The first was in March, for two tickets to Chanwell.
The second was in June, for two tickets to Arcver Island.
The third was in September, for two tickets to Utemont.
The fourth was coming up next week, for two tickets to Artonwood.
Every single time, it was always two tickets.
And the name of the companion? Always Julia Mitchell.
Lionel flew out four times this year, each trip to a different country.
And me? I didn't get a single weekend trip the whole year.
He said work was crazy, and I bought it.
He said he had to work overtime on weekends, and I believed him.
He said those business trips were all about chasing investors and clients, and I believed every excuse.
I believed him all year round.
It turned out that it wasn't work keeping him busy. It was another woman.
I took a deep breath and dialed a number.
"Randall, it's Shannon," I said.
On the other end was Randall Stewart, the owner of a local tour agency in Artonwood I'd worked with for six years.
"Shannon! It's been ages. What's up?" Randall said.
"I need you to look into someone for me," I said.
I sent him the name of the hotel and Julia's passport details.
"Can you check the check-in records?" I asked.
"Give me half an hour," Randall replied.
Twenty-three minutes later, Randall sent me a message.
It was a PDF file.
I opened it, my hands steady.
But after reading it, I flipped my phone face down on the desk and closed my eyes for a long time.
Over the past year, Lionel and Julia had checked into the same resort hotel three times.
Every time, they stayed in the same ocean-view suite.
Every single bill went to the same credit card.
That card was the company's business credit card.
So not only was he cheating on me, he was using company money to spoil her.
After a long pause, I opened my eyes and saved the PDF into an encrypted folder.
I named the folder "2024 Business Trip Reimbursements."
No one would ever think to click on a folder with such a dull name.
I skipped lunch.
All through the afternoon meeting, one question kept nagging at me. Who was Julia Mitchell?
The hotel check-in records included her passport number.
I made a note of the rest of the numbers.
I needed someone else to help me check it out.
"Julia Mitchell, female, born in 1994, hometown: Ingford," Emilia Adams, my lawyer friend, read out over the phone.
Emilia paused on the line after that.
"Shannon, are you sure you want to dig into this? Once you know, there's no going back," Emilia said.
"Keep going," I said.
"She has a brother."
My fingers clenched around the phone. "What's his name?"
"Hector Mitchell."
That name slammed into my mind like a nail to the temple.
Hector, Lionel's business partner, owned 35% of the company.
Julia was his sister.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"Julia owns a trading company with a registered capital of 1.5 million. She's listed as the legal rep, but the real person in charge is—" Emilia paused again.
"Lionel," she finished.
There was a few seconds of silence on the line.
"Shannon, do you understand? This isn't just cheating," Emilia said.