Chapter 4 - Grant Celebrated Too Early Because He Thought His Wife Had Finally Signed Away EverythingGrant woke the next morning smiling.
Ava watched him from across the breakfast table.
"You look happy."
"I closed a deal."
"Congratulations."
He kissed her.
"I think things are finally going our way."
Her stomach turned.
"Whose way?"
He laughed.
"Everything's fine."
Ava smiled.
"I hope so."
He left.
Chloe called twenty minutes later.
"Did he tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"He transferred money."
"How much?"
"Three hundred thousand."
Ava closed her eyes.
"Where?"
"Outside the country."
Daniel joined the call.
"Don't interrupt the transfer."
Chloe sounded confused.
"Why?"
"Because we need the trail."
Daniel explained.
They needed evidence tying Grant directly to the hidden accounts.
The money itself mattered less than proving intent.
Ava understood.
"Let him run."
She didn't like the words.
But she said them anyway.
That afternoon, Ava visited her father's old home.
The house had been empty since his death.
She had avoided it.
Too many memories.
Too much grief.
But something drew her there.
She opened his study.
Dust covered the desk.
Books remained on the shelves.
His old leather chair sat beside the window.
Ava opened drawers.
Nothing.
Then she remembered the blue folder.
She searched the desk again.
Behind the bottom drawer was a hidden compartment.
Inside was another envelope.
This one had Grant's name on it.
Ava stared.
Her father's handwriting was unmistakable.
Ava,
If you are reading this, Grant has already begun moving the money.
Her breath caught.
I once believed he could be trusted. I was wrong.
Ava read faster.
The person behind Grant is not Elliot Crane.
She stopped.
Then who?
Elliot is only the messenger.
Another line.
The person you should fear is the one who has been protecting Grant from consequences for years.
Ava felt cold.
She thought of Richard Bennett.
Could it be him?
Then the final sentence.
Ask my daughter where she first met Grant.
Ava frowned.
The answer was simple.
At a charity gala.
Five years ago.
Her father had attended.
Grant had been there.
They had introduced themselves.
Ava remembered.
Her father had watched Grant carefully.
That night, after Grant walked her home, her father had said:
"Be careful."
Ava had laughed.
"With him?"
Her father had nodded.
"You don't know what he wants."
She had assumed he was being protective.
Now she realized he had known.
Ava called Daniel.
"What happened at the charity gala five years ago?"
Daniel went silent.
Then:
"Your father discovered something."
"What?"
"Grant was not there for the charity event."
Ava's heart pounded.
"Why was he there?"
"To meet Elliot Crane."
She froze.
"Five years ago?"
"Yes."
"Then Grant's connection to Elliot goes back before my marriage."
"Exactly."
Ava hung up.
She searched old photographs.
There.
Grant.
Talking to Elliot Crane.
But behind them stood someone else.
A man Ava recognized instantly.
Richard Bennett.
Her blood ran cold.
Grant hadn't entered her life by accident.
He had been introduced into it by Richard.
And Chloe's father had known Ava's father.
The marriage wasn't merely convenient.
It had been engineered.
That evening, Grant came home early.
He was smiling.
"We should celebrate."
Ava looked up from the kitchen.
"What happened?"
"I think we're finally ready for a fresh start."
She smiled.
"Fresh start?"
"Chloe is going to be part of my life."
Ava let the silence stretch.
Then she said:
"I know."
Grant's smile vanished.
For the first time in two years, Ava saw genuine fear in his eyes.
But it lasted only a second.
He laughed.
"What?"
"I know about Chloe."
He watched her.
Then slowly smiled.
"How long?"
Ava looked at him.
"Long enough."
Grant leaned against the counter.
"You should have talked to me."
"I didn't want to interrupt."
"You've been listening to me?"
"Sometimes."
His face hardened.
"You're becoming paranoid."
Ava smiled.
"Maybe."
Grant stepped closer.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know about the money."
His face changed.
"How much?"
Ava didn't answer.
"I know about the accounts."
Silence.
"I know about the house."
Grant's jaw tightened.
"And I know Chloe thinks you're going to marry her."
He whispered.
"You talked to her."
Ava said nothing.
Grant suddenly laughed.
"Do you know what's funny?"
"What?"
"You think you're smarter than me."
Ava smiled.
"No."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"I think you underestimated me."
He moved toward her.
Ava stepped back.
He stopped.
For several seconds they stared at each other.
Then he said:
"You should be careful."
Ava's heart pounded.
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
He smiled.
"It's advice."
He walked upstairs.
Ava stood alone in the kitchen.
Her hands shook.
But she didn't cry.
She called Daniel.
"He's suspicious."
Daniel said, "Then the timeline changes."
"To what?"
"Ten days."
Ava took a breath.
"Let's finish it."
The following morning, Grant filed for divorce.
The paperwork claimed Ava was emotionally unstable.
It cited her grief.
Her supposed jealousy.
Her alleged inability to manage finances.
Ava read every line.
Then she smiled.
Because he had accidentally written the first part of his confession.
Every accusation contained a lie.
And every lie could be disproven.
Daniel filed an emergency response.
Chloe gave a sworn statement.
The audio recording was authenticated.
The bank transfers were traced.
And the property documents revealed exactly what Grant had attempted to do.
His perfect image began to fracture.
Investors started asking questions.
Briarstone's board scheduled an emergency meeting.
Richard Bennett stopped answering Chloe's calls.
Then, at 6:20 P.M., Ava received a text from an unknown number.
You think Grant is the mastermind. He isn't.
A second message followed.
Ask Daniel Brooks why your father really died.
Ava stared at the screen.
Then called Daniel.
He didn't answer.
For the first time since the beginning, she was genuinely afraid.
May you like
Not of Grant.
Of the possibility that the person orchestrating everything was much closer than she had ever imagined.
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