Chapter 4 - The Billion-Dollar Lie Behind My MarriageFor several seconds, Emily could only stare at Roman.
Behind him, a cold shaft of October sunlight crossed the warehouse floor.
He didn't move closer.
He didn't try to take the paper from her hand.
He simply waited.
"What company?" Emily asked.
Roman answered quietly.
"Vale Maritime Finance."
"Your company?"
"It belonged to my older brother, Anthony, and me."
"Belonged?"
"Anthony died twelve years ago. I sold the finance division afterward."
Emily looked down at the document.
The name printed beside the financing chain was Vale Maritime Finance.
A company she'd never heard of.
A company connected to the entity that might be stealing her father's inheritance.
"And you didn't think to mention this?"
"I didn't know that particular transaction was connected until I saw the document."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No. I expect you to verify it."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"That's your answer for everything, isn't it?"
Roman held her gaze.
"Because it's the only answer that doesn't require blind trust."
Rebecca stepped between them.
"Emily, we don't need to resolve this right now. We have documents to preserve."
Emily nodded.
But the disappointment burned.
She'd been foolish enough to feel safe beside Roman.
She'd mistaken honesty about certain things for honesty about everything.
Her father had warned her.
Trust the records, not the promises.
She turned away.
For the next hour, Rebecca and Martin documented the ledger and its contents.
They found invoices bearing signatures from employees who had left Carter Harbor years earlier.
Several entries listed freight movement on days when the port had been closed because of severe weather.
Other records showed payments from Northline subsidiaries to vendors that appeared to share addresses and management.
One set of transactions involved a company called Meridian Recovery Group.
Emily recognized the name.
Garrett had paid Meridian for "strategic consulting" several years earlier.
When she'd questioned the expense, he had told her the company specialized in regulatory compliance.
Now the ledger suggested Meridian might have been moving funds between related entities.
But one page disturbed her more than all the others.
It contained a list of payments labeled Family Consideration.
The first payment appeared three months before her wedding.
The second appeared six months after it.
The third was dated the month her father died.
All three were associated with Garrett.
Emily felt sick.
She looked at Rebecca.
"What does family consideration mean?"
"It could mean any number of things. We need supporting records."
Emily pointed at the first date.
"That was just before Garrett proposed."
Rebecca studied the page.
"Don't draw conclusions yet."
But Emily couldn't stop.
She remembered how quickly Garrett had become interested in Carter Harbor after their engagement.
At the beginning of their relationship, he'd claimed business bored him.
He was a commercial real estate consultant, but he'd always said he preferred the creative side of development.
Then he'd begun spending weekends with Thomas.
Asking questions about warehouse valuations.
Learning the ownership structure.
Offering to review lease agreements.
Emily had been delighted.
She thought the two most important men in her life were becoming friends.
Now she wondered whether she had been part of a transaction from the beginning.
"How much?" she whispered.
Rebecca looked up.
"What?"
"How much was I worth?"
"Emily."
She pointed to the page.
"How much did someone pay him to marry me?"
Roman, standing near the office doorway, lowered his eyes.
Rebecca touched Emily's arm.
"We don't know that anyone did."
"But you're thinking it."
"I'm thinking we need proof."
Emily stared at the ledger.
The largest amount beside a Family Consideration entry was $850,000.
Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
A number large enough to change someone's life.
A number that could explain why Garrett had suddenly paid off his student loans after their engagement.
Why he'd purchased an expensive car without discussing it.
Why he'd insisted the money came from a successful consulting contract.
Emily pressed a hand against her belly.
Her daughter moved.
She imagined telling her someday that her parents had once been happy.
Would that be a lie too?
Rebecca closed the ledger.
"We've documented enough for the moment. Martin will preserve copies, and the company representative will secure the originals. We should leave."
Emily nodded.
Outside, Roman was waiting beside his vehicle.
She walked toward him before Rebecca could intervene.
"Tell me about Anthony."
Roman looked surprised.
"My brother?"
"Yes."
He glanced toward Rebecca.
Emily crossed her arms.
"She can hear everything."
Roman nodded.
"Anthony was older by nine years. He built the finance division when I was still handling restaurants and freight contracts."
"Was he involved in organized crime?"
Roman's expression didn't change.
"Anthony had business relationships I wouldn't defend."
"That's a careful answer."
"It's an accurate one."
"And you?"
"I made mistakes when I was younger. I worked with people I shouldn't have trusted. Some were later prosecuted. I spent years untangling the legal businesses from those relationships."
Emily watched him.
"Did you ever hurt anyone?"
Roman went still.
Then he answered.
"I have hurt people. I've threatened people. I've used fear when I should have used lawful processes."
Emily felt her stomach tighten.
"Have you killed anyone?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
"Have you ordered someone killed?"
"No."
"Why do people call you a mafia boss?"
Roman looked toward the harbor.
"Because my family once operated around men who earned that description. Because I inherited enemies as well as businesses. And because I didn't always correct the reputation when it benefited me."
"Do you still benefit from it?"
"Sometimes."
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't. Not without evidence."
Emily almost smiled, but she was too tired.
"That answer is getting annoying."
Roman's expression softened.
"I imagine it is."
She studied him.
"Did Anthony know my father?"
"Yes."
"Were they friends?"
"No."
"Enemies?"
"Not exactly."
Roman paused.
"Your father refused to sell Harbor Fourteen to Anthony's investment group. Anthony didn't appreciate being told no."
Emily swallowed.
"Was my father threatened?"
"Not by me."
"By Anthony?"
"I don't know. But Thomas believed pressure was being applied through developers and business intermediaries."
Emily looked away.
The harbor wind lifted strands of her hair.
"What happened to your brother?"
"Cancer."
She turned back.
"You're sure?"
A shadow crossed Roman's face.
"Yes, Emily. I sat beside his hospital bed for six months."
Something in his voice stopped her.
She recognized that particular kind of grief.
The grief that didn't need dramatics because it had been lived too long.
"I'm sorry."
Roman nodded.
"So am I."
For a moment, they stood quietly.
Then Emily said, "I'm going to investigate your company too."
"I expect you to."
"And if you're involved?"
"Then you should pursue the evidence wherever it leads."
She searched his face.
There were a thousand things she wanted to ask.
Instead, she said, "I don't want you contacting me directly for now."
Roman accepted it.
"Understood."
"I'll speak through Rebecca."
"Of course."
Emily walked back to the car.
She did not look behind her.
But when Olivia started the engine, Emily saw Roman in the side mirror.
He stood alone beside his vehicle.
Watching the warehouse.
Not her.
For some reason, that made leaving harder.
Over the next forty-eight hours, Emily's life changed in ways that had nothing to do with romance.
Rebecca filed preservation notices.
She requested corporate records from Carter Harbor and related entities.
A forensic accounting firm began tracing payments identified in the blue ledger.
Garrett's attorney sent a hostile letter alleging Emily was improperly interfering with an approved business transaction.
Rebecca responded by disputing the characterization and requesting a pause in any action affecting Emily's voting rights.
The company's board agreed to convene an emergency meeting.
Emily spent hours reviewing documents.
She read until her eyes burned.
She took breaks when the baby moved too much.
She ate because Olivia threatened to call her obstetrician if she skipped meals.
She slept badly.
But she kept working.
On Thursday afternoon, Garrett arrived outside Olivia's house.
He rang the doorbell three times.
Olivia checked the camera.
"Your favorite person is here."
Emily felt her pulse rise.
Garrett stood on the porch carrying flowers.
White roses.
Her favorite.
Or what he'd always said were her favorite.
Emily realized she actually preferred peonies.
But Garrett liked white roses, so he'd been buying them for seven years.
She almost laughed.
"Do you want me to send him away?" Olivia asked.
Emily thought for a moment.
Then shook her head.
"I'll talk to him outside."
Rebecca had advised against discussing business matters without counsel, but Emily wanted to tell him directly that she was safe and that their relationship had changed.
Olivia stayed nearby.
Emily opened the door.
Garrett smiled as if he had arrived for an anniversary dinner.
"Hey, baby."
She didn't return the smile.
"Garrett."
He held out the roses.
"These are for you."
Emily looked at them.
"No, thank you."
His smile faltered.
"Emily."
"What do you want?"
He glanced toward the street.
"Can we talk privately?"
"We can talk here."
He lowered his voice.
"Please don't do this."
"Do what?"
"Turn our marriage into some kind of legal battle."
Emily stared at him.
He looked tired.
For a moment, she remembered the man who used to bring her soup when she had a cold.
Then she remembered Vanessa laughing in the hotel room.
"You brought me paperwork that would give someone control over my shares."
Garrett sighed.
"That isn't what those documents do."
"I have legal advice saying otherwise."
"Your lawyer is misunderstanding the transaction."
"Then she can speak to yours."
He stepped closer.
"Emily, I know you're scared."
"I'm not scared of the merger."
His expression tightened.
"Then what is this really about?"
Emily looked at him.
She wanted to ask about Vanessa.
She wanted to watch him invent another lie.
But there was something else she needed to know first.
"Did you love my father?"
Garrett blinked.
"What?"
"Thomas. Did you care about him?"
"Of course."
"Then why were you helping people move money through his company?"
Garrett went absolutely still.
His eyes shifted briefly toward Olivia's front window.
"Who told you that?"
Emily felt the answer before she heard it.
A man who had nothing to hide would have asked what she meant.
Garrett wanted to know who had spoken.
"My father's records," she said.
His face lost color.
"What records?"
Emily didn't answer.
Garrett reached for her arm.
She stepped back.
He stopped.
"Emily, listen to me. There are things you don't understand."
"Then explain them."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because you'll make everything worse."
She stared at him.
"Do you hear yourself?"
Garrett dragged a hand over his face.
"Look, some of the financing was complicated. Things were done years ago that shouldn't have been done. But the merger fixes the problem."
"For who?"
"For everyone."
"Does it fix it for Dad?"
Garrett looked away.
Emily felt something harden inside her.
"Did someone pay you to marry me?"
His head snapped back.
"What?"
She repeated the question.
"Did someone pay you to marry me?"
For a moment, he looked genuinely horrified.
Then angry.
"That's insane."
"Answer me."
"No."
Emily studied him.
He held her gaze.
But the answer arrived too quickly.
"Then explain the payments labeled Family Consideration."
Garrett's face changed.
It wasn't subtle this time.
His mouth opened.
Closed.
He stared at her as though she had spoken a dead language.
"Where did you see that?"
Emily's heart sank.
"You know what it means."
"No."
"Garrett."
He stepped forward.
"Emily, give me whatever documents you found."
She stepped backward.
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"Those records are confidential company property."
"They belonged to my father."
"You could destroy everything by misunderstanding them."
Emily looked at the roses in his hand.
"That's what you keep saying."
"Because it's true."
"Then tell me what the money was for."
His expression twisted.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"The truth is your father was a stubborn man who nearly destroyed his own company because he couldn't accept that the world had changed."
Emily felt as if he'd slapped her.
"Don't speak about him that way."
"He wasn't some saint, Emily."
"Neither are you."
Garrett stared at her.
Then his face softened.
It was so sudden that she recognized the tactic before he used it.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry."
He reached toward her stomach.
She moved away.
"Don't."
His hand froze.
"Emily."
"I don't want you touching me."
Pain flickered across his face.
Whether it was real or performed, she no longer knew.
"She's my daughter too."
"Then start acting like her father."
Garrett looked past her at Olivia.
Then back.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you don't use her to manipulate me."
His jaw tightened.
"Who put that idea in your head?"
"You did."
He went pale.
Emily continued.
"At the Halston Hotel."
For a moment, the entire street seemed to fall silent.
Garrett stared at her.
She watched recognition dawn.
Room 1208.
Vanessa.
The dinner.
His expression shifted from confusion to disbelief.
"Emily..."
"I brought you chicken parmesan."
He looked as though someone had struck him.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
"How much did you hear?"
She gave a small, humorless laugh.
"Enough."
He swallowed.
"That wasn't what it sounded like."
Emily looked at him for a long moment.
Then she repeated his exact words.
"The baby is useful. Emily gets sentimental when she thinks about family."
Garrett's face drained.
She continued.
"After the merger, she can figure out her own life."
"Emily, I can explain."
"No."
"Vanessa and I—"
"I don't need the details."
"Please."
"I spent seven years giving you the benefit of every doubt. You used every one of them."
Garrett's eyes filled.
For one second, Emily almost believed his pain.
Then he said, "You don't understand what Vanessa has on me."
Emily stopped.
"What?"
Garrett looked toward the street.
His breathing changed.
"She's not just my attorney."
Emily waited.
He swallowed.
"She's been involved with the Northline financing since before your father died."
"I know."
"Then you don't know enough."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"Vanessa has documents. Original documents. She can make it look like I approved transactions I never even saw."
"Did you?"
Garrett stared at her.
Then whispered, "Some."
Emily's heart pounded.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
"Who is behind the money?"
He shook his head.
"Emily, you need to stop asking questions."
"Who?"
Garrett looked almost desperate.
"There's someone else."
She felt cold.
"Who?"
He glanced over his shoulder.
Then said, "Someone who has been watching Carter Harbor since before we met."
Emily waited.
But he suddenly stepped back.
He seemed to have realized how much he'd revealed.
"Just sign the agreement," he said hoarsely. "Let the transaction close. Then I can make sure you and the baby are taken care of."
Emily stared at him.
He had just admitted that Vanessa held damaging documents.
He had acknowledged signing suspicious transactions.
And he was still asking her to surrender control of her inheritance.
"No."
Garrett closed his eyes.
"Emily."
"No."
His expression changed.
The pleading disappeared.
In its place came something cold.
"You're making a mistake."
"Then it's mine to make."
He stood silently for several seconds.
Then he placed the roses on the porch railing.
"You're going to regret trusting Roman Vale."
Emily felt a jolt.
"Why?"
Garrett stared at her.
"Because he's not trying to save you."
"What is he trying to do?"
Garrett laughed without humor.
"He's trying to take back what your father stole from his family."
Emily frowned.
"My father didn't steal anything."
"That's what you think."
He turned away.
"Garrett!"
He stopped beside his car.
"What did my father steal?"
He looked back.
For a moment, she thought he might answer.
Instead, he said, "Ask Roman what happened at Pier Nine."
Then he climbed into his car and drove away.
Emily stood on the porch until Olivia came outside.
"Are you okay?"
Emily watched the empty street.
"No."
Olivia put an arm around her.
Emily looked down at the abandoned roses.
Then she noticed something unusual.
A small card was tucked beneath the ribbon.
Not the usual florist's note.
A plain white card with a typed message.
She pulled it free.
There were seven words.
STOP THE MERGER OR YOUR BABY PAYS.
Emily's blood turned cold.
She showed Olivia.
Olivia immediately called Rebecca.
Within minutes, Detective Mitchell was notified.
Emily stood inside the house, looking through the window at the flowers.
Garrett had brought them.
But the message made no sense.
If he wanted her to sign the merger documents, why would the card tell her to stop the deal?
Had someone intercepted the bouquet?
Had Garrett brought a threat he didn't understand?
Or was someone trying to make her believe he had?
Emily looked toward the street.
May you like
And for the first time, she understood that the most dangerous person in the story might not be her husband.
It might be the person he was afraid to name.
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