Chapter 6 - The Woman Behind the Curtain
Carrie spent the next week building something Dominic had never expected.
Her own life.
She moved from Claire's guest room into a quiet rental apartment near Stamford.
The lease was in her name.
The insurance was in her name.
The nursery was modest.
A crib.
A rocking chair.
Soft curtains.
A bookshelf.
Nothing extravagant.
Everything intentional.
Carrie stood in the middle of the empty room and imagined her daughter growing up there.
No guards.
No political dinners.
No whispers.
No mistress in the hallway.
Just peace.
She thought she should have felt guilty.
Instead, she felt lighter.
Then Evelyn arrived with new evidence.
“Vanessa wants immunity.”
Carrie looked up.
“From what?”
“Everything.”
“Why?”
“She has evidence on Arthur and Edward.”
Carrie's eyes narrowed.
“What about Dominic?”
“She's willing to testify that Dominic had no knowledge of the scheme.”
Carrie was silent.
“Do you believe her?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I believe she is frightened.”
That mattered.
Carrie asked to meet Vanessa.
Evelyn strongly objected.
Carrie insisted.
They met at a private law office.
Vanessa entered looking completely different from the woman Carrie remembered.
No designer confidence.
No smug smile.
She looked exhausted.
“I suppose you hate me.”
Carrie sat across from her.
“I don't know you well enough to hate you.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You should.”
“You hurt me.”
“Yes.”
“You deliberately humiliated me.”
“Yes.”
“You slept in my bedroom.”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“I thought if I made you leave, I could become important.”
Carrie looked at her.
“Important to whom?”
“Dominic.”
Carrie said nothing.
Vanessa swallowed.
“I knew the marriage was cold.”
“It wasn't always.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“Do you still love him?”
Carrie answered honestly.
“Yes.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Then why won't you go back?”
“Because love is not enough.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I learned that too late.”
She slid an envelope across the table.
Inside were copies of messages.
Arthur.
Edward.
Victor.
Payment confirmations.
Meeting locations.
And one message that made Carrie stop breathing.
Edward to Vanessa:
Once she leaves, Dominic will become isolated. Margaret can be removed. The staff will resign. Dominic will eventually sign the trust transfer himself.
Carrie looked up.
“They wanted me gone.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vanessa whispered:
“Because your name is attached to the family trust.”
Carrie remembered the prenup.
The protective trusts.
The clauses.
Everything suddenly became clear.
Her presence wasn't emotional.
It was structural.
Without Carrie, the trust could be challenged.
With Carrie, the money remained protected.
Vanessa had not simply been stealing a husband.
She had been helping dismantle an empire.
At that moment, another message arrived.
From Dominic.
I found the files.
Carrie did not respond.
Later that evening, Dominic met with Edward.
They sat across from each other in a private restaurant.
Edward smiled.
“You look tired.”
Dominic's voice was cold.
“You're behind Larkstone.”
Edward leaned back.
“Prove it.”
“I can.”
“You can't.”
Dominic placed photographs on the table.
Edward glanced down.
Then smiled.
“Did Carrie help you?”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“You don't get to say her name.”
Edward laughed.
“There he is.”
“Who?”
“The man I remember.”
Dominic stood.
“You used my wife.”
“No.”
Edward shook his head.
“I used your arrogance.”
That sentence struck deeply.
Edward continued.
“You never listened to Carrie. You assumed her questions were insecurity. Her caution was weakness. Her records were obsession.”
He leaned forward.
“She was the only person who noticed us.”
Dominic's hands tightened into fists.
“How long?”
“Years.”
“You used my foundation.”
“Yes.”
“My money.”
“Yes.”
“My family.”
Edward smiled.
“Family was always the easiest part.”
Dominic walked toward him.
“Where is Victor?”
Edward's smile vanished.
“You still think this ends with him?”
Dominic stopped.
Edward whispered:
“Victor is already dead.”
Dominic stared.
“What?”
“He died eight months ago.”
“Then who is running this?”
Edward looked at the door.
“No one you have thought to fear.”
Dominic turned.
A man stood across the restaurant.
Margaret's security adviser.
The one Dominic had trusted for fifteen years.
He raised a gun.
Dominic moved.
The shot missed.
Chaos erupted.
Dominic's guards dragged him toward the exit.
Edward disappeared.
By the time police arrived, the restaurant was empty.
That night, Dominic finally understood the scale of the betrayal.
The enemy had access to everything.
Security.
Finance.
Family.
And perhaps even medical information.
Because the next morning, Dr. Bennett called Carrie.
“Someone requested your pregnancy records.”
Carrie froze.
“Who?”
“They used authorization credentials associated with Marino Holdings.”
Carrie's blood ran cold.
“Did you release them?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Dr. Bennett lowered his voice.
“You need to be careful.”
Carrie touched her stomach.
“I am.”
But this time, fear was not enough.
She became angry.
The baby shifted beneath her hand.
“You will not touch my child,” Carrie whispered.
Then she called Evelyn.
“It's time.”
“For what?”
“I want the entire trust reviewed.”
Evelyn went silent.
“Carrie, once you activate that process, Dominic's entire financial structure could freeze.”
“I know.”
“Are you certain?”
Carrie looked at the nursery.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
May you like
Carrie answered quietly.
“Because I am done being the person everyone assumes will endure anything.”
