Chapter 13 - RACHEL’S VERSION
Rachel didn’t sit until I did.
That annoyed me.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe because she looked careful.
Careful people had become suspicious.
She placed her phone on the table.
“I kissed your husband.”
Straight to it.
Amanda made a small choking sound.
Rachel looked at her.
“Sorry.”
Amanda said,
“Not my marriage.”
I almost smiled.
Rachel turned back to me.
“I’m not going to pretend I’m innocent.”
“Good.”
“I knew he was married.”
“Better.”
“I knew you were pregnant.”
That one hit.
Rachel looked down.
“I’m ashamed of that.”
I let the silence sit.
She didn’t fill it.
Finally I asked,
“What did Eleanor pay you to do?”
“She didn’t pay me.”
“Tried?”
“Yes.”
Rachel unlocked her phone.
“Three months ago, Eleanor asked me to get close to Dominic.”
I stared.
“You were already his attorney.”
“Former attorney.”
“Why?”
“She wanted leverage.”
“Against him?”
“Against both of you.”
Rachel pushed the phone toward me.
Messages.
Eleanor.
Meetings.
Offers.
One line made my skin crawl.
He needs to feel wanted by someone who understands his pressure.
Another:
Photographs matter more than sex.
I looked up.
“So she wanted evidence he was cheating.”
Rachel nodded.
“Enough to break your marriage if necessary.”
“Why?”
“Your trust.”
Of course.
Everything came back to money.
“If you divorced Dominic before the baby was born, Eleanor believed she could pressure him into challenging the marital agreements.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“I told her that.”
Rachel gave a tired smile.
“She doesn’t take legal advice when it conflicts with what she wants.”
I understood that.
I scrolled.
Then found Rachel’s replies.
Some were professional.
Some weren’t.
One read:
He kissed me tonight.
I looked at her.
She didn’t flinch.
“I kissed him back.”
“Why?”
She swallowed.
“Because I wanted to.”
There.
Another real mistake.
No villain hiding behind a trick.
No excuse.
“I liked him.”
She rubbed her thumb against the edge of the table.
“And I was lonely.”
I looked at her.
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
“I know.”
The answer came fast.
Almost irritated.
Maybe at herself.
I believed her.
Not completely.
But enough.
Then she showed me the last message from Eleanor.
Sent yesterday afternoon.
Tonight ends it. Make sure you are unreachable afterward.
Rachel said,
“I didn’t understand until this morning.”
She leaned forward.
“Eleanor planned to blame the fraud on you and Dominic.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“She intended to survive the company collapse alone.”
Amanda whispered,
“Jesus.”
Rachel opened another file.
An email draft she had recovered from Eleanor’s account weeks earlier.
It named Dominic as the architect of the fraud.
Me as the outside beneficiary.
Peter as the bookkeeper.
Everyone except Eleanor.
My father arrived halfway through.
He read silently.
Then looked at Rachel.
“Why didn’t you come sooner?”
Rachel held his gaze.
“Because I was protecting myself.”
Not noble.
Not heroic.
True.
My father nodded once.
“I respect the answer more than I like it.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Police found Eleanor.”
I stood.
“Where?”
My father’s voice was flat.
“At the airport.”
I exhaled.
Then he added,
“She wasn’t alone.”
“Who was with her?”
May you like
He looked toward the hotel entrance.
“Dominic.”
