Chapter 1 - The Secret Behind the Wine
The room had gone completely silent.
Julian stared at the projector.
Victoria stared at me.
Eleanor looked as though someone had just pulled the floor from beneath her feet.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Julian finally found his voice.
“Elena, turn it off.”
I didn't.
His face reddened.
“Turn it off!”
Still, I remained seated.
My hands were perfectly calm.
That surprised me.
Three days earlier, I had thought discovering my husband's affair would destroy me.
Instead, it had made everything strangely clear.
For eight years, Julian had convinced everyone that I was lucky to have him.
He was successful.
Handsome.
Charismatic.
Generous.
He had built a technology company worth nearly ninety million dollars.
And whenever someone praised him, he smiled modestly and said:
“I couldn't have done it without Elena.”
Everyone thought that was romantic.
I knew better.
He couldn't have done it without me.
I had designed the original security architecture for his company.
I had worked beside him while he slept.
I had sacrificed promotions.
I had moved cities.
I had supported him when investors walked away.
When his first business failed, I was the one who stayed.
When he had nothing, I stayed.
When he finally had everything, another woman came back.
Victoria.
His first love.
The woman Eleanor had always secretly preferred.
The woman Julian had supposedly forgotten.
Except he hadn't.
The projector continued showing the footage.
Victoria stood beside our bed.
Julian was holding her.
She whispered something.
He kissed her forehead.
The room erupted.
Eleanor stood.
“Julian!”
He turned.
“Mom, I can explain.”
“Explain what?”
His younger brother Marcus stared at the screen.
“You brought her into your house?”
Julian swallowed.
“It isn't what it looks like.”
I almost laughed.
That sentence was so predictable.
So pathetic.
So completely useless.
Eleanor looked at me.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three days.”
She stared at me.
“And you waited until tonight?”
“No.”
I reached for the envelope.
“I waited until I knew everything.”
Julian's eyes dropped to it.
“Please.”
His voice was quieter now.
“Elena, we can talk privately.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“You've had private conversations for months.”
I placed the envelope on the table.
“Tonight, everyone gets the truth.”
Julian looked around the room.
His father.
His mother.
His brother.
His cousins.
His business partners.
Twenty people.
Every person whose respect he had spent years collecting.
All watching him.
I opened the envelope.
Inside were printed bank statements.
Hotel receipts.
Gift invoices.
And photographs.
Marcus grabbed the first page.
“What is this?”
I answered calmly.
“Money from Julian's company.”
Julian's face went pale.
“That's confidential.”
“So was your affair.”
Eleanor looked at the documents.
“These payments were made to…”
She stopped.
“Victoria?”
I nodded.
“Over fourteen months.”
Julian shook his head.
“They were business expenses.”
“Really?”
I pulled out another document.
“Then why did your company pay for a suite at the Harbor Hotel on the same night you told me you were in New York meeting investors?”
Nobody spoke.
I turned to the next page.
“And why did the company pay for Victoria's apartment?”
Julian stood abruptly.
“That's enough.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“It isn't.”
He walked toward me.
“Elena, please.”
I stood.
“Sit down, Julian.”
Something in my voice stopped him.
He sat.
Then I looked at everyone.
“There is one more thing.”
I removed another document from the envelope.
“This isn't about Victoria.”
Julian stared at me.
“It is about the company.”
His expression changed.
“What are you talking about?”
I placed the document in front of his father.
“Ask your son why he transferred $4.7 million from the company into a private investment account.”
Julian's father looked at him.
“Julian?”
Julian said nothing.
His father stood slowly.
“What did you do?”
Julian looked at me with hatred.
For the first time in eight years, I saw the real man behind the smile.
And I realized something.
Victoria wasn't the biggest secret.
May you like
She was only the door.
Behind that door was something much darker.
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