Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN TREVOR CREATED
By midnight, Roman's study looked like a war room.
Documents covered the table.
Sadie sat barefoot in one of the leather chairs.
Roman's attorney, Evelyn Shaw, stood beside a screen displaying account records.
"The account was opened using your identification."
Sadie stared.
"I didn't open it."
"We believe you."
"Will the police?"
Evelyn's expression was careful.
"Evidence matters more than belief."
Roman stood near the fireplace.
"What evidence?"
Evelyn changed the screen.
"Trevor used the account repeatedly between 2022 and 2024."
Sadie felt sick.
"Why didn't I know?"
"Statements went to an email address almost identical to yours."
One letter different.
Trevor had built a second Sadie.
A digital version.
One who signed documents.
Moved money.
Approved loans.
And existed only when Trevor needed someone else to blame.
Sadie whispered, "He planned this."
Roman looked at her.
"Yes."
Evelyn nodded.
"And there's more."
She displayed another file.
"Trevor filed a police complaint three years ago accusing Sadie of stealing forty-two thousand dollars."
Sadie stood.
"What?"
"It was closed without charges."
"He never told me."
"He didn't need charges."
Roman understood immediately.
"He needed a record."
Evelyn nodded.
"Exactly."
Sadie's stomach turned.
Trevor had been building a story.
Sadie the thief.
Sadie the unstable ex.
Sadie the obsessed woman.
Years before he needed it.
"Why?"
Roman walked toward the screen.
"Insurance."
Sadie looked at him.
"In case someone discovered the fraud?"
"Trevor could point toward you."
Evelyn closed the folder.
"And now we have another problem."
She placed a photograph on the table.
Melissa.
Trevor's blonde companion from the mall.
Sadie frowned.
"What about her?"
"Her full name is Melissa Grant."
Roman's expression changed.
Sadie noticed.
"You know her?"
"No."
Evelyn answered instead.
"Her father is Arthur Grant."
Sadie waited.
Evelyn continued.
"Chief financial officer of Vale Meridian."
The room went silent.
Roman stared at the photograph.
Trevor wasn't stealing from a random company.
He had access from inside.
Sadie looked at Roman.
"You think Melissa's father is involved?"
"I think coincidences become less convincing when millions of dollars are attached."
Roman's phone rang.
He answered.
"Vale."
He listened.
His face became colder.
"When?"
Another pause.
"Where is she now?"
Sadie stood.
Roman ended the call.
"What happened?"
"Melissa disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"Security was supposed to speak with her."
"And?"
"Her car was found abandoned."
Sadie's heart accelerated.
"Roman."
He grabbed his jacket.
"Stay here."
"No."
"Sadie."
"Don't."
Roman stopped.
"Don't start treating me like glass because Trevor showed up."
"This could be dangerous."
"He already made it dangerous."
Roman looked at her.
Sadie walked closer.
"You married me because I wasn't afraid of your world."
"No."
Roman touched her face.
"I married you because you were the first person who didn't want anything from it."
Sadie's expression softened.
Then Roman's phone buzzed.
A security image appeared.
Melissa entering an underground parking garage.
The timestamp was forty minutes earlier.
Behind her was Trevor.
And behind Trevor was someone neither of them expected.
Arthur Grant.
Roman's CFO.
But the final image was worse.
May you like
Arthur wasn't following Trevor.
They were shaking hands.
