Chapter 8 - THE FRIEND WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
I called back immediately.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
I sat there staring at the screen.
Chloe.
The same woman who destroyed my marriage.
The same woman who was carrying my husband’s child.
The same woman who had hugged me at Leo’s funeral.
Why would she warn me?
Unless…
She knew something.
I drove to the house.
Not because I wanted to see her.
Because I needed answers.
When I arrived, Chloe was outside.
She looked exhausted.
Not happy.
Not excited.
Just broken.
She saw me.
Her face changed.
“Clara.”
I stepped out of my car.
“Why did you call me?”
She looked around nervously.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“Then why did you?”
She swallowed.
“Because I saw what Julian was doing.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“He’s hiding things from me too.”
I almost laughed.
“You thought you were special?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
That answer surprised me.
“I thought I was helping someone I loved.”
The word loved made me angry.
“You love him?”
She looked down.
“I did.”
The honesty almost hurt more.
“Tell me everything.”
She took a deep breath.
“When Julian told me about you, he said your marriage was already over.”
I said nothing.
“He told me Leo’s illness had changed you.”
My hands tightened.
“He said you weren’t the same woman anymore.”
A painful laugh escaped me.
Of course.
That was his story.
Make me look broken.
Make himself look like the victim.
“What else?”
Chloe wiped her tears.
“He said he needed someone who understood him.”
I stared at her.
“And you believed him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because he was good at making people feel chosen.”
That sentence hit hard.
Because it was true.
Julian didn’t force people.
He convinced them.
He made them feel important.
Until they weren’t useful anymore.
“What did you find?”
Chloe looked toward the house.
“Documents.”
“What documents?”
“Financial papers.”
My heart started beating faster.
“What kind?”
“Transfers.”
“From where?”
She whispered:
“Your accounts.”
I felt sick.
“How did you know?”
“Because I saw my name.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“He was creating a trust.”
“For the baby?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“And?”
Her voice became smaller.
“The trust was connected to your inheritance.”
I stepped back.
“He was using you.”
Chloe started crying.
“I know.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t know what he did.”
She looked at me.
“I do.”
Then she reached into her bag.
And pulled out a folder.
“I took this before he could find it.”
I opened it.
The first page was a bank statement.
The second was a legal agreement.
The third…
Made my entire body go cold.
A medical report.
Leo’s name.
I looked at Chloe.
“Why do you have this?”
She looked away.
“Because Julian asked me to get it.”
My hands froze.
“What?”
“He wanted information about Leo’s condition.”
“Why?”
Chloe’s face became pale.
“Because he wanted to know if…”
She stopped.
“If what?”
She whispered:
“If Leo’s illness could be blamed on you.”
The room went silent.
My heart broke all over again.
Not because Julian blamed me.
Because I realized he had been searching for a reason.
A reason to make me the problem.
Then Chloe said something worse.
“Clara…”
“What?”
“Julian wasn’t just looking for medical information.”
“What was he looking for?”
May you like
She looked at me.
“He was looking for a way to prove you were an unfit mother.”
