Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN IN SCARLET
Daniel denied wrongdoing.
He claimed Eastbridge was a legitimate investment vehicle connected to a proposed partnership.
He said Elise was involved because her company specialized in market expansion.
I listened.
Then asked whether marital funds had been transferred without my knowledge.
He avoided the question.
That night, I slept in the guest room again.
The following morning, I asked Rebecca to begin preparing for a formal separation.
It was the hardest sentence I'd spoken in years.
But once I said it, I felt strangely steady.
Three days later, Elise contacted me.
She wanted to meet.
I almost refused.
Then decided I needed to hear what she had to say.
We met at a hotel café.
Elise arrived wearing a gray suit.
Without the scarlet dress, she looked less theatrical.
More tired.
She sat opposite me.
“Thank you for coming.”
I nodded.
She took a breath.
“Daniel told me you knew about us.”
I stared.
“About what?”
Elise looked down.
“Our relationship.”
The words were quiet.
But they changed the air around us.
“How long?”
She swallowed.
“Seven months.”
I looked toward the window.
Seven months.
Seven months of late meetings.
Seven months of canceled dinners.
Seven months of Daniel telling me I was imagining things.
Elise continued.
“He said your marriage had become an arrangement.”
I laughed once.
A bitter sound.
“An arrangement?”
“He said you were staying together for appearances.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Daniel had been telling two different stories.
One to the wife he wanted to keep.
One to the woman he wanted to impress.
I looked at Elise.
“Did you know about Eastbridge?”
She went still.
“Yes.”
“Did you know money from our shared account was transferred there?”
Her expression changed.
“No.”
I studied her.
She looked genuinely shocked.
Elise reached for her phone.
“Daniel told me the capital came from a private investor.”
I stared.
“Which investor?”
She swallowed.
“Julian Hart.”
My heart stopped.
“Julian?”
Elise nodded.
“Daniel said Hart was secretly funding the partnership.”
I sat back.
Something was terribly wrong.
Because Julian had spent months opposing Daniel's expansion strategy.
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Why would he secretly finance it?
Unless Daniel had been lying to both of us.
