Chapter 4
I looked at Serena.
“What trust papers?”
Julian hissed, “Shut up.”
Serena laughed shakily.
“No. I’m not going down for your family.”
Eleanor moved so fast her chair toppled.
“You stupid girl.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“Everyone sit down.”
For once, they listened.
Serena dropped into a chair.
Her hands shook as she opened her bag.
Inside was Julian’s laptop.
And a folder.
She pushed the folder toward me.
Daniel intercepted it first.
He read the top page.
His expression darkened.
“Khloe, this is a spousal consent form transferring your ownership interest in the house and the company.”
My ears rang.
“My ownership?”
Julian stared at the floor.
I turned to Eleanor.
“You told everyone Julian bought this house.”
She smiled thinly.
“He did.”
“No,” Daniel said. “Khloe inherited the down payment from her father and holds fifty-one percent under the original deed.”
Eleanor’s face flushed.
“That was a technicality.”
“My father’s life insurance was not a technicality,” I said.
My voice cracked for the first time.
Julian knew what that money meant.
He knew Dad had died before walking me down the aisle.
He knew I put that money into our future because I trusted him.
Serena whispered, “They needed your signature before the audit.”
“What audit?”
Daniel looked at Julian.
“The tech contract.”
Julian shook his head.
“Don’t.”
Daniel continued anyway.
“The contract Julian celebrated tonight appears to be tied to falsified revenue numbers. If Khloe remained majority owner, she would be liable too.”
My knees nearly gave.
Marcus grabbed my arm.
“They were setting you up,” he said.
I looked at Julian.
“Was the affair part of it?”
He said nothing.
Serena did.
“He told me you’d be gone by Christmas.”
The room blurred.
“Gone?”
Eleanor stood straighter.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
Serena’s voice dropped.
“He said after you signed, he would file for divorce and claim mental instability.”
I stared at my husband.
“You were going to steal my house, frame me for fraud, and call me crazy.”
Julian finally looked up.
His eyes were wet.
But not with guilt.
May you like
With rage.
“You should have stayed useful.”
