Chapter 7

Alex's investigation was still going strong. On the fifth day, he handed me a summary of Sophie's bank transactions.

"This was a pain to get. I had to pull some strings," he said. "But once you see it, you'll know it was worth it."

I opened the file.

Over the past four months, Sophie's personal account had received seven transfers, all from the same account.

The amounts ranged from 7000 to 17,000 dollars each, totaling 80,000 dollars.

The sender? Michael.

80,000 dollars. In four months.

I checked the dates and noticed a pattern. Every time he transferred money to her, either the day before or the same day, his GPS logs showed he'd been at Parkview Residences.

So, every time he went to see her, he'd wire her some money.

This wasn't your typical sugar daddy setup. Usually, that's a fixed date and a fixed amount. This was more like giving her an allowance.

Every time they met, he gave her an allowance.

I remembered him saying last month, "The company's cash flow is tight right now, so we need to be careful with the renovation budget for the second half of the year."

Be careful with the budget, huh.

80,000 dollars.

I shut the file, my expression blank.

At noon, he called. "Hey, honey, want to grab lunch? I'm in the area for a meeting."

"Sure, where should we meet?" I asked.

We met at our usual French restaurant. He was already there and had ordered our food.

"You've lost weight lately," he said, watching me. "Have you been eating okay?"

"No, I'm fine. busy lately," I replied.

"Don't overdo it. Take care of yourself," he said, pouring me some tea. "Oh, by the way, your colleague Mr. Turner wanted some data security consulting. I got a proposal ready. Can you pass it along for me?"

"Okay."

"And next Saturday is your mom's birthday. I've already booked a restaurant. Should we invite your brother's family too?"

"Okay."

He had everything handled perfectly.

He remembered my mom's birthday, what my colleague needed, and made sure to order my favorite food.

If it weren't for those photos, those money transfers, those audio recordings, I might never have doubted this man.

But evidence doesn't lie. People do.

After lunch, he drove me back to my office. as I was about to get out, he grabbed my hand.

"Emily," he said.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"Have you been keeping something from me lately?"

My back went stiff, but I kept my face perfectly neutral. "What is it?"

"It's the way you've been looking at me lately. It's different. Hard to put into words, but it's kind of like how you look at a defendant in court."

He said it with a smile, sounding casual, but his eyes were searching my face for any sign.

"You're reading too much into it," I replied with a little laugh. "When do I ever look at you any other way?"

He laughed too and let go of my hand. "Alright, go on, don't be late."

I got out of the car without looking back.

By the time I stepped into the elevator, my palms were slick with sweat.

He was getting suspicious.

Or maybe his instincts were kicking in. He could sense something wasn't right.

I had to move faster.

That afternoon, I did two things.

First, I used the law firm's connections to pull Michael's company's business records and the past year's equity changes.

Three months ago, he quietly transferred three percent of the shares to someone listed as "S. Lane"; all under the pretense of an "internal incentive."

S. Lane

I checked. The ID number for "S. Lane" matched Sophie Lane's exactly.

He handed her company shares.

A product manager, one year in, walked away with three percent of the company.

At the company's latest valuation, 100 million dollars, three percent meant 3 million.

3 million, plus the 80,000 in transfers, not to mention all the hotel bills, fancy dinners, and jewelry.

All together, that was pushing 4 million.

Nearly 4 million, in four months.

The second thing I did was call Alex.

"Anything new on Sophie?" I asked.

"Yeah," Alex said, sounding hesitant. "But you might not like what I found."

"Tell me," I said.

"This isn't her first time doing something like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I checked into her past and found out her previous 'boyfriend' was also a married man. He was a middle manager at a listed company, eleven years older than her. That lasted eight months and ended last June. Just before she got her master's degree."

I didn't say anything.

"They broke up because his wife found out and things got messy. In the end, the guy paid Sophie a 'breakup fee'. It was around 100,000 dollars. After that, they cut all contact," Alex said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I tracked down his ex-wife. She's divorced now. She filled me in on a lot."

"What kind of details?"

"The ex-wife said Sophie was really smart. She never asked for money, never made a fuss, never threatened to spill the secret.

"She sat there, all quiet and sweet, acting like she totally got it. It made him feel like she was this fragile thing he had to protect, someone worth spending on. So the cash and perks naturally ended up in her lap."

Naturally.

I repeated the word to myself, letting it sink in.

"Yeah. The ex-wife had a name for her. She called her 'a trap that breathes,'" Alex said.

I hung up and added a new subfolder to my files.

I named it "Sophie—Past Records."