Chapter 3 - The Locked Office.
Claire moved before Dominic could stop her.
She passed the pantry, turned the corner, and saw Evelyn's younger son, Nathan, standing at the office keypad with his back to the hall.
Nathan looked over his shoulder and nearly dropped the black leather folder in his hand.
"What are you doing here?"
Claire's question was quiet.
Nathan had always been the family member who avoided conflict, the one who smiled through holidays and left before arguments began.
Now sweat glistened at his temples.
"Dominic told me to grab some tax files."
"From my private office?"
Nathan glanced toward Dominic.
That glance answered more than his words.
Claire shifted Mia to one arm and held out her free hand.
"Give me the folder."
Nathan did not move.
Dominic came down the hall quickly.
"Enough."
Claire looked at the folder again.
"Give it to me."
Dominic reached for it first.
Nathan reacted on instinct and pulled it back.
That one movement exposed a white label on the spine.
HARBOR CONSULTING - Q3 PAYMENTS.
Claire knew every major vendor tied to Mercer Home Systems.
She had never heard of Harbor Consulting.
"What's Harbor?"
Dominic's face hardened.
"A contractor."
"For what?"
"Operations."
"Which operations?"
"Claire, not everything needs your approval."
She almost laughed.
"Payments from my company generally do."
Rachel's voice came through Claire's phone on speaker from the sofa where Leo had carried it after the call stayed connected.
"Claire, do not let anyone remove records from the property."
Dominic looked toward the living room.
"You've had your lawyer listening this whole time?"
"I forgot to hang up."
Rachel did not sound apologetic.
"Dominic, for clarity, company records are subject to preservation once a financial dispute is anticipated."
Dominic swore under his breath.
Nathan slowly handed the folder to Claire.
Dominic grabbed his wrist.
"Don't."
Nathan jerked away.
"I'm not going down for you."
The hallway became still.
Claire opened the folder.
Inside were invoices for marketing strategy, regional consulting, and executive travel.
The amounts were enormous.
Forty-eight thousand dollars.
Seventy-one thousand.
Ninety-three thousand.
Every invoice had been approved by Dominic.
Every payment went to the same account.
Claire flipped to the incorporation sheet clipped at the back.
Harbor Consulting LLC had been registered eleven months earlier.
Its mailing address was a luxury condominium downtown.
Sienna's address.
Claire raised her eyes.
Sienna had followed them into the hallway and was now standing completely still.
"You said she was just a friend."
Dominic's face changed from anger to calculation.
"It isn't what you think."
"Then explain why my company paid your mistress two hundred twelve thousand dollars in three months."
Evelyn appeared behind Sienna.
"Claire, married people solve money problems privately."
Claire stared at her.
"You knew."
Evelyn did not answer.
Leo suddenly called from the living room.
"Mom?"
Claire turned.
He was standing beside the sofa holding something small in his hand.
It was a red memory card.
"I took this from Daddy's camera because he said he was going to erase today."
May you like
Dominic went white.
Then he ran toward Leo.
