Chapter 2 - THE CALL“Why?”
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.
Julian immediately opened it again.
“Who are you talking to?”
I turned my back on him.
The voice on the phone belonged to Mr. Carter, my family's attorney.
“There is something strange about the documents you sent me last night.”
“What documents?”
“The marriage agreement.”
I stopped breathing.
“What about it?”
“There are two versions.”
My fingers tightened around my phone.
“Two?”
“Yes. One was the version your parents reviewed. The second version was attached to the filing packet delivered to the county.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
“What was changed?”
“The financial disclosure section.”
I looked through the glass door.
Julian was standing there.
Victoria beside him.
Both were watching me.
“What does it say?”
Mr. Carter hesitated.
“It suggests you waived certain claims to marital assets and acknowledged a substantial contribution to the household before marriage.”
My stomach dropped.
“I never signed that.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
“That is what we're trying to determine.”
The front door opened.
Julian stepped onto the porch.
“Who is that?”
I covered the microphone.
“My attorney.”
Julian laughed.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
His face hardened.
“What exactly did you steal from upstairs?”
I looked at the suitcase beside me.
“My belongings.”
“You took the cash.”
I said nothing.
His eyes flickered toward my bag.
There it was.
The first confirmation.
He knew about the money.
My heart stopped for one beat.
How?
Victoria stepped forward.
“Elena, don't make this ugly.”
I laughed softly.
“You threw a dirty towel at my face this morning.”
Her expression tightened.
“I said don't make this ugly.”
Mr. Carter was still speaking.
“Do not give Julian access to your passport. Do not surrender the original legal documents. And most importantly, do not go anywhere alone with him.”
I looked at Julian again.
For the first time, I saw the man beneath the mask completely.
Not love.
Not disappointment.
Calculation.
“Mr. Carter,” I whispered, “I think they planned this.”
“I think you're right.”
I ended the call.
Julian approached.
“What did he say?”
“That I should leave.”
Victoria scoffed.
“You're being dramatic.”
“No.”
I looked directly at her.
“I've finally stopped being stupid.”
Julian's face reddened.
“You're my wife.”
I nodded.
“For fourteen hours.”
“Watch your mouth.”
He reached toward my suitcase.
I stepped back.
“Don't touch my property.”
Something flickered across his face.
Fear.
Tiny.
But unmistakable.
That frightened me more than his anger.
My phone buzzed.
Mr. Carter had sent me a photograph.
I opened it.
It was the second marriage document.
At the bottom was a signature.
Mine.
Except it wasn't mine.
Not quite.
It looked close.
Close enough to fool someone who didn't know me.
I stared at it.
Then I noticed the date.
Three weeks before our wedding.
A date when I had been in another state.
My blood ran cold.
May you like
Someone had forged my signature.
And whoever did it had already planned for me to become Julian's wife.
