Chapter 3 - THE COMPANY THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD STEALMy mother arrived at the diner twenty minutes later.
She took one look at Julian.
Then Chloe.
Then me.
“What happened?”
I handed her the report.
She read it.
Her expression hardened.
“How much?”
“Potentially over a million dollars.”
She looked at Julian.
“Explain.”
Julian didn't.
Instead, he looked at me.
“You planned this.”
“What?”
“You've been waiting for something like this.”
I laughed.
“No.”
“I know you.”
“You haven't known me for years.”
He flinched.
That was the truth.
Somewhere along the way, Julian had stopped seeing me.
He saw a wife.
A shareholder.
A convenient source of money.
But not a person.
My father placed his hand on the table.
“Julian, where did the money go?”
Julian finally spoke.
“We had cash-flow problems.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The company was struggling.”
“So you stole from it?”
“I borrowed it.”
“You didn't tell anyone.”
“I intended to pay it back.”
My mother shook her head.
“That isn't borrowing.”
Julian became angry.
“You don't understand.”
My father answered.
“We understand perfectly.”
Julian looked at me.
“You had everything.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“You had money.”
“So?”
“You could have helped me.”
I stared at him.
“You cheated on me because I wouldn't fund your company?”
He didn't answer.
Chloe started crying.
“Julian…”
He turned toward her.
“Don't.”
I looked at both of them.
“You deserve each other.”
I stood.
But before I left, my phone buzzed.
A message from our CFO.
We found another account.
I opened it.
There were transfers to an offshore company.
My blood went cold.
The amount was $2.4 million.
I looked at my father.
“We need to go.”
He nodded.
That afternoon, we held an emergency board meeting.
Every director attended.
I entered the room last.
Julian was already there.
He looked confident.
Until I sat in the chair reserved for the majority shareholder.
His confidence disappeared.
Our CFO stood.
“We have identified irregular transfers exceeding $3 million.”
Murmurs spread across the room.
Julian stood.
“This is being exaggerated.”
The CFO continued.
“We also found altered vendor invoices.”
Julian looked at Chloe.
She looked away.
Then our legal counsel spoke.
“Several payments were authorized using executive credentials.”
Julian interrupted.
“You can't prove I authorized them.”
I placed a folder on the table.
“We can.”
Inside were security logs.
Every login.
Every approval.
Every transfer.
All connected to Julian's device.
He stared at the evidence.
Then looked at me.
“You're destroying me.”
I answered quietly.
“No.”
“You're my wife.”
“I was.”
The room became silent.
I continued.
“Today, I'm your majority shareholder.”
The board voted.
Julian was suspended as COO.
Chloe was suspended from vendor relations.
An independent investigation was ordered.
And I took temporary control of operations.
When the meeting ended, Julian followed me into the hallway.
“Emma.”
I kept walking.
“Please.”
I stopped.
“What?”
His voice cracked.
“I made a mistake.”
I turned around.
“A mistake is forgetting an anniversary.”
I looked into his eyes.
“You built an entire second life behind my back.”
He said nothing.
“And then you stole from the company I protected.”
He whispered:
“I love you.”
I almost smiled.
“No.”
His face crumpled.
May you like
“You don't get to say that anymore.”
Then I walked away.
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