Chapter 2 - THE DOCUMENTS HE EXPECTED ME TO SIGN
I followed Ethan upstairs with my head lowered.
He led me into the master bedroom.
My bedroom.
The woman stood near the closet, holding one of my handbags.
“Look at this,” she said.
She lifted a cream-colored designer bag.
“It's hideous.”
Ethan laughed.
“Then throw it away.”
I stared at him.
He'd given me that handbag on our fifth anniversary.
I'd carried it when my mother was buried.
Now he was allowing his mistress to discard it like garbage.
“Clean the dressing table,” Ethan told me.
I nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
He didn't recognize my voice.
Or perhaps he'd simply never listened closely enough.
The woman turned toward him.
“Where are the papers?”
Ethan opened the desk drawer.
My heart began pounding.
He removed a thick envelope.
The same envelope he'd left for me three days earlier.
He spread several pages across the desk.
“Everything is prepared.”
The woman leaned closer.
“What exactly does she sign?”
Ethan pointed toward the bottom of a page.
“Authorization for restructuring.”
“And the house?”
“Covered.”
“The company shares?”
“Covered.”
She smiled.
“And the trust?”
Ethan hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Once the signatures are authenticated, the assets can be transferred into the holding structure.”
My stomach tightened.
I continued wiping the dressing table.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I wanted to memorize every word.
The woman kissed Ethan's cheek.
“You're brilliant.”
He smiled.
“I know.”
Then he looked toward me.
“Finished?”
I lowered my head.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then get out.”
I walked toward the door.
But before I left, I saw the name printed across the top of the documents.
CALDWELL FAMILY ASSET REORGANIZATION AGREEMENT.
Below it was another name.
NORTHSTAR PRIVATE HOLDINGS LLC.
I knew that company.
Or rather, I knew the name.
I'd seen it on an unfamiliar bank statement six months earlier.
When I'd asked Ethan about it, he'd told me it was a dormant investment vehicle.
May you like
Now I knew it wasn't dormant.
It was waiting for my signature.
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