Chapter 2 - The Locked Door—The Husband—The Secret Partnership

I stared down the barrel of the gun held by the man who taught me how to ride a bike.

“You faked your death?” I whispered, my hands trembling above the keyboard. “Mom cried for weeks. We lost the house paying off the debts you left behind.”

“The debts were necessary to sell the illusion,” my father said smoothly, stepping closer. “The feds were auditing my accounting firm. If I hadn't died in that boating accident, I would be serving twenty years in federal prison.”

He tapped the screen of my laptop with the cold steel of the silencer.

“Eleanor’s late husband helped me funnel the union pension money into those shell accounts,” my father explained. “But when he died, Eleanor got greedy. She locked me out of the trust. She thought since I was legally a ghost, I couldn't claim my cut.”

“So you sent me into their family?” I realized, the horrific truth settling in my stomach like lead.

“I didn't send you,” my father chuckled. “I just paid Marcus a million dollars in cash to ask you out. You’re a brilliant forensic accountant, Julianne. I knew if I put you inside the family, you wouldn't be able to resist digging into their finances. You found the drive. You broke the encryption. You did all the heavy lifting for me.”

My entire relationship. My wedding. It was a heist. Marcus didn't love me. He was on my father’s payroll.

Heavy footsteps pounded against the hardwood floor outside the study. The doorknob rattled violently.

“Julianne! Open this door right now!” Marcus yelled from the hallway.

“Your husband is early,” my father sighed.

My father reached over my shoulder and tapped the keyboard, initiating a massive wire transfer, draining Eleanor's thirty million dollars into a decentralized, untraceable crypto wallet.

He grabbed the USB drive, ripping it from the port.

Then, my father unlocked the door and swung it open. Marcus stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He didn't look angry anymore. He was smiling.

“You got the transfer done, Thomas?” Marcus asked my father casually.

“Every penny,” my father said, handing Marcus the flash drive.

Marcus turned to me, the cruel amusement dancing in his eyes. “Sorry about the cake, Jules. But we needed a public distraction so you’d run up here and unlock the terminal. Now, we’re going to call the police and tell them my unstable new wife just robbed my mother blind.”

The next chapters are on the left side of your screen.

May you like

71 He Ordered a Medic to Sign a False Inspection. Seconds Later, His Son...

Colonel Victor Hale slammed a clipboard into Nia Brooks’s chest in front of the trainees. “Sign it, or you’re done.” She refused t...

THAT EVENING, SHE CALLED ME A THIEF—HER FIANCÉ'S SON CALLED ME MOMMY

Camille kicked my handbag down the stairs of a Chicago penthouse and accused me of stealing. Then six-year-old Leo ran toward me,...

67 My Major Tore My Name Off My Marine Uniform—Then My Dead Fiancé's Voi...

My commanding officer grabbed my uniform and ripped off my name tape in front of forty Marines. He accused me of falsifying record...

If you enjoyed the story, bookmark my site: https://vibe.treeiq.biz

New stories are posted daily, so check back for updates.