The Wife He Chose to Blame
Chapter 03 - The Wife He Chose to Blame
In the kitchen, Claire poured coffee with hands steadier than she felt. The city glittered beyond the windows. Behind her, Mason checked flight times and ordered a car to the private terminal.
“We should use the service elevator,” he said. “Lobby cameras will be reviewed.”
“You thought of everything.”
“I had to.”
Claire placed his cup on the counter. “Except me.”
Mason stopped.
She asked when he had first decided to frame her. At first, he denied it. Then, believing she had agreed to escape, he began to boast.
The plan started when Claire’s father left her control of the company. Mason had expected the shares to pass to him.
“He never trusted me,” Mason said.
“My father trusted the numbers.”
“He humiliated me.”
“So you stole from his employees?”
“I took what I earned.”
The phone in the bathroom captured every word.
Mason admitted creating shell companies, moving pension funds overseas, and using Claire’s credentials whenever the system required approval. The airport post would make it appear that she had fled with him. A forged confession would be released after their departure.
Once they reached Portugal, however, Mason planned to abandon her and continue alone under his false identity.
Claire’s voice dropped. “There was never a house for us, was there?”
He did not answer.
The truth hurt, but it also freed her. Mason had not betrayed her in one terrible night. He had spent years preparing for the moment she became more useful as a suspect than as a wife.
A knock sounded at the door.
Mason froze. “Were you expecting someone?”
“No.”
The knock came again. A man announced a late-night building inspection, but the security monitor showed an empty hallway. Naomi’s team was keeping Mason uncertain while a judge reviewed the warrant.
Mason turned toward Claire. “Where is your phone?”
“In the bedroom.”
He searched the nightstand and bed, growing frantic. Claire backed toward the kitchen island. He grabbed her wrist, not hard enough to injure her, but hard enough to reveal the man beneath his polished smile.
“You contacted someone.”
Claire met his eyes. “You said people always recover.”
His grip tightened.
“So let’s see whether you can.”
The hidden phone chimed. Mason released her and rushed toward the bathroom. Claire reached the dresser first, seized the flash drive, and locked herself inside the bedroom.
Mason struck the door. “Claire, open it!”
Her screen displayed two messages from Naomi.
ACCOUNTS FROZEN.
WARRANT APPROVED.
Claire stared at the words and smiled.
May you like
Then Mason went silent.
A second later, she heard the suitcase rolling toward the service entrance.
