Chapter 3 - THE TREACHERY OF THE SHADOW
The next morning,
I didn't go to the office.
I couldn't face the stares of my employees or the suspicious glances of my partners.
Instead,
I drove to the Grand Meridian.
I needed to see Vanessa.
I needed someone to tell me that it wasn't all for nothing.
I needed to believe that the woman I had risked everything for was worth the ruin.
I bypassed the front desk and went straight to the penthouse suite.
I used my key card,
but it didn't work.
I tried again,
the red light flashing like a warning.
I pounded on the door,
my frustration boiling over into rage.
"Vanessa!
Open the door!"
After a few minutes,
the door opened,
but it wasn't Vanessa.
It was a man in a dark suit,
looking bored and professional.
"Mr. Carter?"
he asked,
checking a clipboard.
"Who the hell are you?
Where is Vanessa?"
"Ms. Cole moved out this morning,"
he said,
his voice devoid of emotion.
"The lease,
which was in the name of your offshore holding company,
has been terminated by the primary shareholder."
My heart stopped.
"Primary shareholder?
I'm the primary shareholder."
"Not according to the paperwork filed at 9:00 AM,"
the man replied.
"A Mrs. Claire Carter is listed as the sole executor of the holding company's assets.
She ordered the immediate eviction of the tenant and the seizure of all property within the unit."
I pushed past him into the suite.
It was stripped bare.
The expensive furniture I had bought for her,
the artwork,
the jewelry—everything was gone.
Vanessa was gone.
I called her phone.
Disconnected.
I realized then that Vanessa hadn't been some innocent victim of my charms.
She was a mercenary.
And the moment the money was threatened,
she had vanished.
Or worse...
I saw a small envelope on the kitchen island,
identical to the one Claire had left at the house.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single photograph.
It was a picture of Claire and Vanessa,
sitting at a cafe,
smiling and drinking tea.
On the back,
Vanessa had written:
"She paid better,
Julian.
And she’s much better company."
The room began to spin.
Vanessa had been working with Claire.
The mistress I thought was my secret escape was actually the one providing the rope for my hanging.
Every "romantic" weekend,
every "private" conversation,
every "secret" transaction—Vanessa had been recording it all.
She had fed me the lines I wanted to hear while she was feeding Claire the evidence she needed to destroy me.
I felt a wave of nausea.
I had been played by everyone.
The woman I betrayed and the woman I betrayed her with had formed an alliance against me.
I was the only one who didn't know the rules of the game.
I sank onto the floor of the empty penthouse,
the luxury of the space now feeling like a prison cell.
I had nothing left.
No wife.
No son.
No mistress.
No money.
May you like
And soon,
I would have no freedom.
