Chapter 4 - One Unexpected Kiss Changed Their Agreement—But Someone Was Watching Them From Across the Street
Jenna read her mother's message three times.
Then she handed me the phone.
"She knows."
"Possibly."
"Her signature is on the document, Evan."
"It appears to be."
"You're doing that careful lawyer thing."
"I'm trying not to decide what happened before we hear her explanation."
Jenna paced across my library.
I had never seen her so angry.
Not frightened.
Not uncertain.
Angry.
"My mother watched Ryan humiliate me for two years. She kept inviting him into my life. And now I find out her name is attached to a fraudulent account?"
Rachel Monroe sat beside the fireplace, reviewing the documents.
"We need to separate what we know from what we suspect."
Jenna stopped.
"Fine."
Rachel looked up.
"We know an account was opened in your name. We know it received suspicious payments. We know the application includes a signature that appears to belong to your mother."
"And we know Ryan's company sent the money," Jenna added.
"Yes. But we don't yet know whether Patricia understood what she was signing."
Jenna crossed her arms.
"She signs everything without reading it."
Rachel nodded.
"That may matter."
I stood near the windows.
Outside, snow had begun falling over the gardens.
For years, my instinct had been to solve problems through pressure.
Find the person responsible.
Make them talk.
End the threat.
But Jenna was watching me.
And I wanted to become someone who deserved the trust she had placed in me.
"We should arrange a meeting," I said.
Rachel nodded.
"Somewhere neutral."
Jenna looked at me.
"Not your office?"
"No."
"Not my parents' house?"
"Definitely not."
Rachel suggested her conference room.
Patricia agreed to come the next morning.
Richard Hart insisted on accompanying her.
Jenna spent the rest of the evening quiet.
At nine thirty, I found her on the terrace outside the library.
She was wearing one of my coats.
It hung almost to her knees.
I stopped in the doorway.
"That looks familiar."
She glanced down.
"I borrowed it."
"I noticed."
"Are you going to charge me?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Whether you plan to return it."
She smiled faintly.
"Probably not."
I walked beside her.
The mountains were hidden behind clouds.
The city lights glowed in the distance.
For several minutes, we stood together without speaking.
Then Jenna said, "I used to think my family was normal."
I looked at her.
"Normal is a complicated word."
"My mother was controlling, but I thought she loved me."
"Those things can both be true."
She looked down.
"That's what makes it worse."
I nodded.
She continued.
"After Ryan left, she kept telling me I'd thrown away the best opportunity I'd ever have."
"She was wrong."
"I know that now."
She turned toward me.
"But when someone says something often enough, part of you starts wondering whether they're right."
I took her hand.
"Jenna, your worth was never determined by whether Ryan Mercer wanted to marry you."
Her eyes filled.
"I know."
"Or whether your mother approves of your choices."
"I know."
"Or whether I do."
She looked at me sharply.
I continued.
"You don't need anyone's permission to build the life you want."
She stepped closer.
"Then what if the life I want includes you?"
My breath caught.
"That's a decision I'd be very grateful for."
She smiled.
Then she kissed me.
There was nothing tentative about it this time.
Her hands rested against my chest.
Mine settled at her waist.
The world seemed to narrow to the warmth of her mouth and the snow falling around us.
When she pulled away, she was smiling.
"You're getting better at this boyfriend thing."
"I've been practicing mentally for two years."
She laughed.
Then she leaned against me.
I wrapped my arms around her.
For the first time in a long time, I felt something dangerously close to peace.
It lasted eleven minutes.
My phone vibrated.
Marcus.
I almost ignored it.
Then I saw the message.
"Possible surveillance vehicle outside the south gate."
I looked toward the driveway.
A dark sedan was parked beyond the property.
Its headlights were off.
Jenna followed my gaze.
"What?"
"Someone may be watching the house."
She stiffened.
"Ryan?"
"I don't know."
I called Marcus.
"Don't approach the vehicle. Record the plate if you can. Contact the local police if it remains."
"Already done."
"Any movement?"
"Not yet."
I ended the call.
Jenna looked at me.
"Is this because of the bank account?"
"Probably."
She exhaled.
"I thought leaving Ryan meant I was finished with him."
I took her hand.
"You are finished with him. Whatever he's doing now is his responsibility."
She nodded.
We went inside.
Twenty minutes later, the sedan disappeared.
Marcus obtained partial plate information from the gate camera.
The registration belonged to a rental agency.
The renter's name was Daniel Voss.
The investigator I had seen speaking with Ryan at the restaurant.
I forwarded the information to Rachel.
She added it to the evidence file.
The following morning, Patricia and Richard arrived at Rachel's office.
Patricia looked exhausted.
Richard appeared confused and angry.
Jenna sat across from them.
I remained beside her, but Rachel conducted the meeting.
She placed a copy of the bank application on the table.
"Mrs. Hart, do you recognize this document?"
Patricia stared.
Her face changed.
"Where did you get that?"
Jenna leaned forward.
"Mom."
Patricia looked at her daughter.
"Jenna, I can explain."
"Then explain."
Patricia twisted her hands.
"Ryan came to us last year."
Richard frowned.
"Patricia?"
She ignored him.
"He said he was helping Jenna with a financial opportunity."
Jenna stared.
"What financial opportunity?"
"He told me you wanted to invest in a property development but were embarrassed to ask your father for help."
Richard turned sharply.
"You never told me this."
Patricia began crying.
"Ryan said it was a surprise."
Jenna's voice was quiet.
"So you signed paperwork in my name?"
"He told me you had already authorized it."
"Did you ask me?"
Patricia looked down.
"No."
"Did you call me?"
"No."
"Did you even read what you signed?"
Patricia shook her head.
Jenna leaned back.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she asked, "Why would you believe Ryan over me?"
Patricia's face crumpled.
"Because I thought he was going to become part of our family."
Jenna looked devastated.
Richard stood.
"Patricia, what have you done?"
"I didn't know!"
Rachel raised a hand.
"Mr. Hart, please sit down."
Richard obeyed reluctantly.
Patricia wiped her face.
"Ryan told me it was temporary. He said Jenna would thank us when the investment matured."
Jenna looked at her.
"And when it didn't?"
Patricia hesitated.
Rachel noticed.
"Mrs. Hart?"
Patricia began crying harder.
"Three months ago, Ryan called me."
"What did he say?" Rachel asked.
"He said there had been a problem with the investment."
"What kind of problem?"
"He said Jenna's employer might misunderstand the transactions."
I felt Jenna's hand tighten around mine.
Patricia continued.
"He told me not to say anything because he was trying to fix it."
Rachel leaned forward.
"Did he ask you for money?"
Patricia nodded.
Richard went pale.
"How much?"
"Forty thousand dollars."
Richard stared at his wife.
"From where?"
Patricia covered her face.
"Our retirement account."
Silence filled the room.
Richard slowly sat back.
Jenna looked as though she had been struck.
Her mother had not only helped Ryan open the account.
She had been paying him to keep quiet.
I understood the shape of the scheme now.
Ryan had used Patricia's trust to obtain Jenna's information.
He had used Jenna's identity to conceal financial transfers.
Then, when the fraud threatened to surface, he had convinced Patricia to pay him.
But one question remained.
Why had he continued involving Jenna after the account was already established?
Rachel asked it.
Patricia wiped her eyes.
"He said if Jenna married him, he could protect her."
Jenna went completely still.
"What?"
Patricia nodded miserably.
"He said the situation would be easier to resolve if they were legally married."
I felt something inside me turn cold.
Ryan hadn't simply wanted Jenna back.
He wanted legal access to the woman whose identity he had stolen.
Marriage would have given him opportunities to control shared finances, influence her decisions, and potentially pressure her into accepting responsibility for transactions she knew nothing about.
Jenna stood.
"I need a minute."
I rose with her.
She shook her head.
"Please. Just one minute."
I nodded.
She walked into the hallway.
Through the glass wall, I watched her stand near a window.
Her shoulders shook.
I wanted to go to her.
But she had asked for space.
So I stayed.
After several minutes, Richard approached me.
He looked older than he had the previous evening.
"Mr. Blackwood."
"Mr. Hart."
"I owe you an apology."
I said nothing.
"I judged you based on your reputation."
"Some of it is deserved."
He looked surprised.
I continued.
"But Jenna deserves to be judged by her own choices. Not mine. Not Ryan's. Not yours."
Richard lowered his head.
"You're right."
He looked toward his daughter.
"I didn't know Patricia had done any of this."
"I believe you."
"Will Jenna be arrested?"
"Her attorney is working to establish the facts. I can't promise an outcome."
He nodded.
Then he asked, "Do you love my daughter?"
The question caught me off guard.
I looked through the glass.
Jenna was wiping her eyes.
"Yes."
Richard studied me.
"Does she know?"
"She does now."
He nodded slowly.
"Then don't make her regret trusting you."
I met his gaze.
"I'll do everything I can not to."
The meeting ended with Patricia agreeing to provide her messages and financial records.
Rachel advised her to obtain separate legal counsel.
Richard promised to cooperate.
Jenna barely spoke during the drive home.
That evening, she asked me to take her to her apartment.
I agreed.
Marcus arranged for a security escort because Voss had been seen near the property.
When we arrived, Jenna stopped outside her door.
Something was wrong.
The lock had been scratched.
The doorframe was damaged.
I stepped in front of her.
"Don't touch anything."
She stared.
"My apartment."
I called the police.
Officers arrived fifteen minutes later.
They entered and confirmed that someone had forced the lock.
Drawers had been opened.
Documents scattered.
Her laptop was missing.
But the television, jewelry, and cash remained untouched.
This had not been an ordinary burglary.
Someone had been searching for information.
An officer asked Jenna whether anything else was missing.
She looked around.
Then her face changed.
"My blue folder."
"What blue folder?" I asked.
She turned toward me.
"The one I kept from when Ryan and I were engaged."
"What was in it?"
"Old financial documents. Apartment applications. Copies of our identification."
My stomach tightened.
"Anything else?"
She hesitated.
"Ryan's old laptop backup drive."
I stared at her.
"You had his backup drive?"
"He left it when he moved. I forgot about it until recently."
"Did you ever open it?"
"No."
The officer made a note.
Jenna looked at me.
"Why would someone want it?"
I had a terrible suspicion.
"Because it might contain evidence."
Then Jenna's phone rang.
An unknown number.
She answered on speaker after checking with the officer.
A man's voice said, "Tell Blackwood to stop investigating."
I recognized the voice.
Daniel Voss.
Jenna froze.
"Who is this?"
The man ignored her.
"Your ex made a mistake involving you. Don't make it worse."
I stepped closer.
"Voss."
Silence.
Then a laugh.
"Blackwood."
"Where's the drive?"
"Wrong question."
"What do you want?"
"Tell your attorney to stop digging into Westbridge."
I looked at Jenna.
She was shaking.
I kept my voice calm.
"You're speaking on a recorded line with police present."
Voss hung up.
The officer immediately began documenting the call.
Jenna sat on the edge of her sofa.
I knelt beside her.
"Look at me."
She did.
"We're going to handle this through the investigation."
Her eyes filled.
"And if they don't stop?"
I held her hand.
"Then we keep gathering evidence until they can't hide."
She looked at the broken door.
Then she looked at me.
"Evan, I don't want to spend the rest of my life afraid."
I squeezed her hand.
"Neither do I."
That night, I made a decision.
I would cooperate fully with the financial investigation.
Even if it exposed things about my organization I had spent years concealing.
May you like
Because for the first time, I understood that protecting Jenna might require something harder than defeating an enemy.
It might require changing the man I had become.
Related Stories
