Chapter 5 - THE ACCOUNT WITH MY NAME ON IT
Our company was called Bennett & Cole Design.
Ryan had insisted on keeping my maiden name in the business title when we married.
He said it sounded sophisticated.
At the time, I thought it was romantic.
Now I wondered whether anything he'd done had been sincere.
I was the licensed architect.
Ryan handled client relationships and finances.
The company had grown from a small home office into a respected firm with twelve employees.
I designed.
He negotiated.
I trusted him with the accounts.
That trust had been a mistake.
Natalie arranged for an independent forensic accountant to review the records we could lawfully access.
Two days later, she returned to my hospital room.
Her expression told me everything before she spoke.
"Emily, there are problems."
I sat upright.
"What kind?"
"Unexplained transfers."
My stomach tightened.
"How much?"
"At least three hundred thousand dollars over eighteen months."
I stared.
"That's impossible."
Natalie placed a folder on the table.
"The money went to a consulting company."
I looked at the name.
Cole Strategic Advisory.
Vanessa.
I felt sick.
"Ryan told me she was helping with marketing."
Natalie nodded.
"Some invoices describe marketing services."
"Did she provide any?"
"We haven't found documentation supporting the amounts."
I stared at the folder.
There were invoices.
Monthly payments.
Expense reimbursements.
And several transfers marked special project fees.
Then Natalie showed me another document.
A proposed asset-transfer agreement.
It would have moved several of our most valuable client contracts into a new company.
A company owned by Ryan.
Without me.
My hands began shaking.
"He was stealing our business."
Natalie spoke carefully.
"We have evidence of transactions that require explanation. We need to investigate before reaching legal conclusions."
I nodded.
But I knew what I was looking at.
Ryan hadn't simply been having an affair.
He'd been preparing an exit.
And he intended to take the company I'd helped build.
I looked at Natalie.
"What can we do?"
She leaned forward.
"We can protect your interests. But we need to act carefully."
I swallowed.
"Tell me."
"We'll preserve the financial records, notify the appropriate professionals, and seek emergency legal relief if necessary."
I nodded.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
"Can he take everything while I'm in the hospital?"
Natalie's expression softened.
"Not without a fight."
I looked down at my stomach.
Sophie moved.
A tiny kick.
I placed my hand over the spot.
May you like
And for the first time since the fall, I felt something stronger than fear.
Determination.
