PART 3
Daniel remained on his knees long after Olivia's car disappeared down the street.
The silence inside the house was unbearable.
Finally, Margaret spoke.
"Get up."
Daniel didn't move.
"I told you to get up."
Slowly, he stood.
His face was pale.
His eyes were fixed on the divorce papers still lying on the coffee table.
Emily sat quietly on the sofa, gently rocking baby Sophie.
For the first time since arriving at the house...
She felt like an unwelcome guest.
* * *
That afternoon, Daniel called Olivia twenty-three times.
She answered none of them.
He sent dozens of messages.
Please let me explain.
I made a mistake.
Come home.
The last message remained unread.
Because Olivia had already blocked his number.
* * *
Meanwhile...
Olivia checked into a business hotel near the airport.
Her Shenzhen project had ended two days early.
She hadn't come home because she missed Daniel.
She had returned because her lawyer advised her to inspect the property before filing the final documents.
Instead...
She discovered she'd been locked out of her own house.
She placed her father's damaged painting against the hotel wall.
The warped frame broke her heart.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Michael Chen entered carrying another folder.
"I've received their response."
Olivia looked up.
"So quickly?"
"They're asking for mediation."
She smiled faintly.
"I expected that."
Michael sat across from her.
"There's something else you should know."
He handed her several printed bank statements.
Olivia frowned.
"What are these?"
"Your joint account."
She slowly opened the folder.
Her expression changed.
Over the past six weeks...
There had been dozens of transfers.
Hospital bills.
Luxury baby furniture.
Designer nursing clothes.
A top-of-the-line stroller.
High-end skincare products.
Even a diamond necklace purchased from an exclusive boutique.
Every payment had come from their joint account.
Olivia's contribution to that account represented nearly eighty percent of the balance.
She looked at Michael.
"I never approved these."
"You didn't."
He pointed to the authorization records.
"Your husband used his online access."
Olivia quietly turned another page.
The total made her pause.
Nearly $48,000.
She laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because she finally understood.
When Daniel said,
"We'll pay together."
He had actually meant...
"You'll pay."
* * *
Back at the house...
Emily accidentally overheard a conversation between Margaret and Daniel.
Margaret lowered her voice.
"You shouldn't have spent so much."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"I thought Olivia wouldn't mind."
"She earns six times my salary."
Emily froze.
"What did you say?"
Both of them turned.
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"I..."
Emily stood up.
"The stroller..."
"The nursery furniture..."
"The necklace Mom insisted I accept..."
She stared at him.
"Olivia paid for all of that?"
Daniel couldn't answer.
Emily slowly looked around the living room.
The expensive bassinet.
The automatic bottle sterilizer.
The imported baby monitor.
She had assumed Daniel had become more successful over the past few years.
Now she realized...
Most of it had been bought with Olivia's money.
Her face turned crimson.
"I never asked for any of this."
Margaret sighed.
"You deserved something nice after everything you've been through."
Emily shook her head.
"Not like this."
She walked into the master bedroom.
For the first time...
She truly looked around.
The wardrobe wasn't hers.
The books weren't hers.
The perfume bottles she'd pushed aside to make room for baby supplies belonged to another woman.
She suddenly felt like she had been living inside someone else's life.
* * *
The following morning...
Daniel arrived at Olivia's office.
The receptionist smiled politely.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Carter."
"Ms. Bennett is unavailable."
"I'll wait."
He waited.
One hour.
Then two.
Finally...
The elevator doors opened.
Olivia stepped out wearing a charcoal business suit, carrying a laptop bag.
Several colleagues walked beside her.
"Ms. Bennett, the Singapore audit team confirmed the meeting."
"The board wants you to lead the international review."
"We've already reserved the executive conference room."
Daniel stared.
This wasn't the quiet wife who made breakfast every morning.
This was the woman everyone respected.
Confident.
Decisive.
Important.
One of the directors noticed him.
"Ms. Bennett, is everything alright?"
Olivia glanced at Daniel.
"Just someone from my personal life."
She turned back to her colleagues.
"Please go ahead without me."
They nodded immediately.
Daniel waited until they disappeared.
"I didn't know..."
Olivia looked at him calmly.
"Didn't know what?"
"That everyone at work respected you like that."
She smiled slightly.
"You never asked."
He lowered his eyes.
"I thought your job was... just accounting."
"It's international forensic auditing."
She corrected him.
"I investigate corporate fraud."
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
He suddenly remembered every time he'd dismissed her long work hours.
Every business trip he'd complained about.
Every promotion he'd barely acknowledged.
Yet he had celebrated every tiny request Emily made.
He whispered,
"I've been a terrible husband."
Olivia didn't argue.
Instead, she reached into her bag and handed him another envelope.
"What's this?"
"Your answer."
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a report from a private investigator.
Dozens of photographs.
Financial records.
Phone logs.
Daniel frowned.
"What is this?"
Olivia looked him straight in the eye.
"The reason I hired a lawyer wasn't just because you gave away my bedroom."
She paused.
"It was because I discovered something much worse."
Daniel's blood ran cold.
"What... are you talking about?"
Olivia's expression remained unreadable.
"The investigator found that someone has been secretly moving money out of our accounts for over a year."
She took one slow step closer.
"And according to the records..."
"...the transfers didn't start with you."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"If not me..."
Olivia's gaze shifted past him, toward the parking lot where a familiar silver sedan had just pulled in.
Margaret stepped out.
Still unaware...
That the next secret was about to destroy everything she had spent years trying to protect.
