Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHAaron called me thirty-two times that night.
I did not answer.
At 6:00 a.m., I woke to a message from Martin.
He has left the estate. He did not sleep.
I wasn't surprised.
What surprised me was the next line.
Jasmine left with him.
I stared at the ceiling.
For a moment, I remembered the woman I had been four years ago.
Twenty-six.
In love.
Completely convinced that loyalty could solve anything.
I had believed Aaron's ambition was beautiful.
I had believed his arrogance was confidence.
I had believed his distance meant stress.
When he stopped coming home, I told myself he was building an empire.
When he stopped touching me, I told myself he was exhausted.
When he stopped saying "I love you," I told myself marriage wasn't measured in words.
I had spent years turning warning signs into excuses.
Not anymore.
At 8:15, my lawyer arrived.
Her name was Rebecca Sloan.
She put a tablet on the table.
“There’s been movement in Prescott Group.”
“Already?”
“Aaron called an emergency board meeting for noon.”
“What is he planning?”
“He intends to claim that the Hawthorne Trust funds were injected into the company under a verbal gift agreement.”
I laughed.
Rebecca did not.
“He’s serious.”
“I know.”
“He may also attempt to remove you from the board.”
“He can't.”
“No.”
She tapped the tablet.
“But he can create enough noise to scare shareholders.”
I studied the screen.
Press releases.
Investor rumors.
Anonymous posts.
Someone was already leaking stories.
One headline made me pause.
Billionaire CEO Under Threat From Estranged Socialite Wife.
Estranged.
That word was interesting.
“We're not estranged.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Legally, no.”
“Good.”
She smiled faintly.
“You're taking this better than I expected.”
“I've already mourned the marriage.”
“And the company?”
I looked at her.
“That depends on whether Aaron understands what he's standing on.”
At 11:30, I arrived at Prescott Tower.
The lobby fell silent.
People recognized me.
Whispers followed me toward the elevators.
“That's her.”
“The wife.”
“I heard she’s trying to seize the company.”
“She’s insane.”
I continued walking.
The elevator opened directly into the executive floor.
Aaron was waiting.
He looked terrible.
His tie was loose.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He had aged ten years overnight.
“You came.”
“I said I would.”
“You're enjoying this.”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“Calm.”
I looked at him.
“Because I'm finally telling the truth.”
The boardroom was full.
Twelve directors.
Senior executives.
Outside counsel.
Jasmine stood against the far wall.
Eleanor sat beside Aaron.
Victor Chen sat opposite me.
The chairman cleared his throat.
“We are here to discuss ownership, control, and the recent banking restrictions.”
Aaron stood.
“Alyssa is attempting to weaponize private marital assets against my company.”
I waited.
He held up the funding agreement.
“She transferred $1.5 billion as a personal contribution to support our marriage and my company.”
Victor visibly flinched.
Aaron continued.
“She has now decided that because our marriage has deteriorated, she wants to seize control.”
I looked around the table.
“Is that what he told you?”
No one answered.
I turned to Victor.
“General counsel?”
He adjusted his glasses.
“The document says otherwise.”
Aaron shot him a look.
Victor continued.
“The $1.5 billion was issued as secured preferred equity.”
A director frowned.
“Why wasn't this disclosed?”
“It was.”
Victor looked at Aaron.
“In the original capitalization schedule.”
Aaron's face tightened.
One director said quietly, “Then she already owns the shares.”
“Not exactly,” Victor replied.
He looked at me.
“She owns conversion rights that become controlling under specific conditions.”
“And what condition is that?” Aaron demanded.
Victor swallowed.
“Fraudulent transfer.”
The room went silent.
Aaron's chair scraped backward.
“That is absurd.”
Victor continued.
“Or material breach of fiduciary duty.”
Eleanor stood.
“This is a family matter.”
“No,” I said.
I turned toward her.
“It stopped being a family matter when your son decided the company was more important than the people who built it.”
Jasmine suddenly spoke.
“Maybe you're doing this because you're jealous.”
The room changed.
I slowly looked at her.
“Jealous?”
She stepped closer.
“Aaron trusted me professionally.”
“I know.”
“You hate that.”
“No.”
“Then why are you punishing him?”
I smiled.
“Because he lied.”
Jasmine's confidence slipped.
“What lie?”
I opened my phone.
“Would you like me to show everyone?”
Aaron stood sharply.
“Alyssa.”
I looked at him.
“You wanted the board to see everything.”
His face changed.
The board watched us.
I pressed play.
The recording began.
Jasmine's voice.
“You told her the aircraft was company property.”
Aaron answered.
“I'll deal with Alyssa.”
“She still thinks she's untouchable.”
“I'll make her look like a spoiled wife trying to steal my company.”
Jasmine laughed.
Then came Aaron's voice.
“She'll sign whatever I put in front of her. She always has.”
Silence.
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Aaron stared at me.
“You recorded me?”
“No.”
I tilted my phone.
“It came from the smart home system.”
His face went pale.
The board chairman slowly leaned back.
Aaron whispered, “That's illegal.”
Victor looked down at the table.
“No. It isn't.”
“Why?”
“Because the system was registered to the Hawthorne Trust.”
Aaron looked at me.
And for the first time, he understood.
The cameras he had spent years ignoring were not his.
Neither was the house.
Neither was the jet.
Neither was the trust.
Neither was the company.
He had simply been living inside things I had allowed him to believe were his.
Then the boardroom doors opened.
A young man entered carrying a sealed envelope.
He approached the chairman.
“Sir, this was delivered by the court.”
The chairman opened it.
His eyes widened.
He looked at Aaron.
“Mr. Prescott.”
“What?”
“You've been served.”
Aaron took the papers.
I watched him read the first page.
His hands started shaking.
The lawsuit was not from me.
It was from one of his largest institutional investors.
And the accusation was much worse than marital betrayal.
Fraudulent concealment of beneficial ownership.
Aaron looked up at me.
“You did this.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
May you like
I leaned forward.
“You did.”
Related Stories
