PART 2 — THE ENVELOPE
Luca arrived home just after seven that morning.
I knew because the apartment’s security system sent me a notification.
I was already sitting in a small hotel room across town, my suitcase beside me and my laptop open.
I watched the camera feed.
Luca entered through the front door carrying his fishing bag, laughing as he spoke to someone on his phone.
Then he noticed the dining table.
He stopped.
The spare key was sitting exactly where I had left it.
Beside it was the envelope.
He picked it up.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the three words written across the front.
YOU CHOSE WRONG.
Then he laughed.
I watched him tear it open.
The smile disappeared from his face almost immediately.
Inside were copies of the forensic reports I had prepared six months earlier.
Vendor invoices.
Bank transfers.
Company ledgers.
Photographs of properties.
And a detailed timeline showing exactly how money had been moved from the family business into accounts controlled by Wendy.
At the bottom was one final document.
A resignation letter.
Luca read it twice.
Then his phone rang.
“Where are you?” he demanded.
I watched his face change as someone on the other end answered.
“She’s gone.”
He slammed his fist against the table.
“She took the audit files.”
I almost smiled.
Of course I had.
Those files were the only reason his family had been able to sleep peacefully for the last six months.
Then another notification appeared on my laptop.
WENDY STERLING — CALLING
I ignored it.
She called again.
And again.
Finally, she left a voicemail.
Her voice was no longer angry.
It was frightened.
“Come back. We need to talk.”
I deleted the message.
There was nothing left to discuss.
Or at least, that’s what I believed.
Until my attorney called.
“Are you sitting down?”
“Yes.”
“There is something you need to know about the company.”
“What?”
“Your husband isn’t the only person who knew about the missing money.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“There are documents showing that your father-in-law knew too.”
I went completely still.
My husband’s family business was about to become much more complicated.
PART 3 — THE MONEY WASN’T THE REAL SECRET
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