Chapter 2 - The Woman I Found in My Bed
At 2:07 a.m., Rebecca Vance's phone rang.
She almost ignored it.
She had been awake for hours anyway.
Sleep had become impossible since she had discovered the truth about her husband.
Three days earlier, Rebecca had returned unexpectedly from Chicago after her flight was canceled because of a violent storm. She had been carrying a box of dark chocolate truffles, the kind Julian loved.
She had imagined his surprise.
Instead, she had found him in their bedroom with Clarissa.
Clarissa was not a stranger.
She was the wife of Julian's younger brother, Marcus.
Rebecca had stood in the hallway, staring through the partially opened door.
She had not screamed.
She had not thrown the chocolates.
She hadn't even cried.
She had simply backed away.
That night, something inside her had gone strangely quiet.
For years, Rebecca had been the woman who fixed problems.
She had once served as Chief Financial Officer of Vance & Sterling Enterprises, the commercial real estate empire founded by her grandfather.
Numbers had always made sense to her.
People were harder.
Especially Julian.
He had spent years telling her that she worried too much.
That she worked too much.
That she needed to trust him.
And she had.
Until the numbers stopped making sense.
Months earlier, Rebecca had noticed suspicious transfers moving through companies connected to Julian's business interests.
Small amounts at first.
Then larger ones.
Payments routed through offshore accounts.
Consulting fees for companies she couldn't find.
Real-estate transactions that appeared profitable on paper but seemed designed to move money rather than make it.
She had quietly hired a private investigator.
She had told herself she was simply being careful.
Now she understood.
She hadn't been paranoid.
She had been late.
Very late.
Her phone rang again.
Rebecca picked it up.
“Mrs. Vance?”
The woman's voice was professional.
“Yes?”
“This is St. Jude's Hospital. We need you to come to the emergency room immediately.”
Rebecca sat upright.
“Why?”
There was a pause.
“Your husband arrived here with another woman.”
Rebecca's heart stopped.
The voice continued carefully.
“They're experiencing a medical situation that requires intervention. We need you here.”
Rebecca stared into the darkness.
She already knew.
“Who is the woman?”
Another pause.
“Clarissa Vance.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Of course.
The absurdity was almost unbearable.
She had spent three days wondering how Julian would explain what she had seen.
She hadn't expected him to end up in an emergency room with Clarissa.
“I'm on my way.”
She hung up.
For several seconds, she sat motionless.
Then she stood.
She dressed carefully.
Black trousers.
A white blouse.
A tailored black jacket.
She applied makeup.
Not because she cared what Julian thought.
Because she refused to walk into that hospital looking broken.
She picked up the leather folder she had prepared earlier.
Inside were six months of evidence.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
Hotel reservations.
Wire transfers.
Text messages.
And recordings.
One recording mattered more than all the others.
Julian's voice.
Clear.
Calm.
Confident.
He had been speaking to someone on the phone.
“I'll stay married to Rebecca as long as necessary. Her family's voting shares are worth more than the divorce settlement.”
Rebecca had listened to that recording twelve times.
Every time, she felt the same cold emptiness.
Their marriage had never been what she thought.
At 2:40 a.m., she entered St. Jude's emergency room.
The fluorescent lights made everything look unreal.
A nurse approached.
“Mrs. Vance?”
Rebecca nodded.
“This way.”
The nurse led her through the corridor.
Rebecca heard voices before she saw them.
Then the curtain opened.
Julian was lying on a hospital bed.
Clarissa was on another adjacent bed.
Doctors and nurses were working professionally to resolve the medical problem.
Both looked humiliated.
Julian's face drained when he saw Rebecca.
“Rebecca.”
She stopped.
He tried to speak.
“Sweetheart, this isn't—”
“Don't.”
Her voice was quiet.
That frightened him more than shouting would have.
Rebecca placed the folder on a nearby counter.
She opened it.
One photograph.
Then another.
Hotel records.
Bank transfers.
A jewelry receipt.
A text message.
Julian stared at the evidence.
Clarissa began crying.
Rebecca looked at her.
“Did he tell you he loved you?”
Clarissa covered her face.
Julian snapped.
“Rebecca, stop.”
“No.”
She turned toward him.
“You've had three days to prepare your lies.”
Julian swallowed.
“What are you talking about?”
“The phone call.”
His expression changed.
Rebecca pressed play.
His own voice filled the room.
I'll stay married to Rebecca as long as necessary.
Clarissa looked at him.
“You said that?”
Julian's face tightened.
“You don't understand.”
Rebecca almost laughed.
“No. I understand perfectly.”
The doctor glanced toward the doorway.
“Mrs. Vance, we need to finish treating them.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Of course.”
She turned toward Julian.
“I'll sign whatever administrative forms are necessary.”
Relief flashed across his face.
Then Rebecca added:
“But before I do…”
She leaned closer.
“Give me the combination to your office safe.”
Julian froze.
The change was immediate.
Rebecca had expected anger.
Instead, she saw fear.
Real fear.
His eyes moved toward the doctor.
Then toward Clarissa.
Then back to Rebecca.
“Why?”
“Give me the combination.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Rebecca smiled.
“Yes, you do.”
He stared at her.
She waited.
Finally, his voice dropped.
“Six digits.”
He gave her the number.
Rebecca memorized it.
Then she signed the forms.
As the medical team prepared to move them for treatment, Julian called after her.
“Rebecca!”
She turned.
He looked desperate.
“Please.”
She stared at him.
“You should have thought about that before you decided I was something you could own.”
Then she walked away.
Outside the treatment area, Marcus arrived.
His hair was wet from the rain.
He looked exhausted.
Then he saw Clarissa.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“You should ask your wife.”
Marcus stared through the glass.
Then he looked at Rebecca.
“What is going on?”
Rebecca opened her folder.
“Your brother has been having an affair with your wife.”
Marcus went completely still.
For a moment, he didn't breathe.
Then he whispered:
“No.”
Rebecca handed him the photograph.
He looked at it.
His hands began shaking.
Behind him, the doors opened.
David Mercer, Rebecca's private investigator, stepped into the corridor.
He looked at her.
“We need to talk.”
Rebecca nodded.
“About the money?”
“About everything.”
He lowered his voice.
“I found something tonight.”
“What?”
David looked toward the hospital room.
“The safe.”
Rebecca's heart began pounding.
“What about it?”
“The transfers you've been tracking?”
“Yes?”
“They don't lead to Julian's personal accounts.”
David paused.
May you like
“They lead somewhere much worse.”
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