CHAPTER 3 "My Husband Slapped Me in Front of His Mistress—The Next Day He Lost Everything"
CHAPTER 3 – THE SECRET THAT COULD DESTROY THEM ALL
The anonymous message haunted Elena all night.
"Ask Margaret what happened to your father the night before he died."
She read it again at 3 a.m.
And again at 4 a.m.
By sunrise she still hadn't slept.
Her father’s death had always been considered natural.
A heart attack.
That was the official explanation.
The doctors confirmed it.
The police found nothing suspicious.
The case was closed within days.
But now...
For the first time in years, Elena found herself questioning everything.
What if the truth had been buried?
What if someone wanted it forgotten?
What if her father hadn't simply died?
Victor entered her office shortly after eight.
One glance at her face told him she hadn't slept.
"You received the message."
Elena looked up sharply.
"You know about it?"
Victor nodded.
"I received one too."
A chill ran through her.
"What did yours say?"
Victor handed over his phone.
The screen displayed a single sentence.
"The dead don't stay silent forever."
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Finally Elena stood.
"I want everything."
Victor frowned.
"Everything?"
"Every report. Every medical file. Every witness statement. Every person who saw my father during his final week."
Victor nodded immediately.
By noon, a private investigation team had been assembled.
By evening, they made their first discovery.
And it changed everything.
The lead investigator placed a folder on Elena’s desk.
"We found inconsistencies."
Elena opened it.
Her stomach tightened.
Medical records.
Hospital logs.
Security reports.
One page immediately stood out.
The timestamp.
11:47 p.m.
The night before her father died.
A visitor had entered his private residence.
A visitor whose name had been removed from the official report.
Elena looked up.
"Who was it?"
The investigator slid forward a photograph.
Elena froze.
Margaret Escalante.
Andrew's mother.
The room went silent.
Victor broke it first.
"Are you certain?"
The investigator nodded.
"Multiple sources confirmed it."
Elena stared at the image.
Margaret had always claimed she barely knew her father.
Yet here she was.
Visiting him in secret less than twelve hours before his death.
Why?
The question lingered like poison.
And Elena intended to find the answer.
Across town, Andrew's situation was becoming desperate.
Every news outlet was covering the scandal.
Former CEO Removed.
Corporate Fraud Investigation.
Board Takes Emergency Action.
The headlines were merciless.
Investors panicked.
Partners withdrew.
Friends stopped answering his calls.
Even worse...
Brenda was missing.
Andrew had spent the entire day trying to reach her.
Nothing.
No response.
No messages.
No explanation.
Finally he drove to her penthouse.
The doorman recognized him immediately.
"I'm sorry, sir."
Andrew frowned.
"What?"
"Miss Reynolds checked out yesterday."
His heart dropped.
"Checked out?"
"She left the city."
The realization hit instantly.
Brenda had run.
The woman who claimed to love him.
The woman he nearly destroyed his marriage for.
Gone.
Just like that.
Andrew clenched his fists.
For the first time, anger turned into something else.
Regret.
Not because he missed Brenda.
Because he was beginning to understand what he had thrown away.
That evening Elena arrived at the mansion.
Not as a wife.
As an owner.
The gates opened automatically.
Security stepped aside.
The staff greeted her respectfully.
Word had spread.
Everyone knew who truly controlled the empire now.
Margaret waited inside the library.
She appeared calm.
Too calm.
As if she had expected this visit.
Elena entered alone.
The door closed behind her.
For several moments neither woman spoke.
Then Elena placed the photograph on the table.
Margaret's expression changed instantly.
Only for a second.
But Elena noticed.
"You remember this."
Margaret slowly sat down.
"Where did you get it?"
Elena ignored the question.
"What were you doing with my father the night before he died?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Margaret folded her hands.
"I came to talk."
"About what?"
No answer.
Elena's patience vanished.
"About what, Margaret?"
Margaret finally looked up.
And for the first time in years, she seemed afraid.
"Your father made a mistake."
Elena felt her pulse quicken.
"What mistake?"
Margaret's voice dropped.
"He trusted the wrong people."
The answer only created more questions.
Elena stepped closer.
"What happened that night?"
Margaret closed her eyes.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Then—
The library door burst open.
Andrew stormed inside.
"Enough!"
Both women turned.
Andrew looked furious.
Protective.
Desperate.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.
Andrew ignored her.
His attention remained fixed on Margaret.
"Don't tell her."
Margaret stared at her son.
The room became deathly quiet.
Elena felt something shift.
Something important.
Andrew wasn't trying to stop an argument.
He was trying to stop the truth.
And that terrified him.
The following morning brought another shock.
Victor rushed into Elena's office carrying a tablet.
"You're going to want to see this."
Elena took it.
A financial report filled the screen.
Her eyes widened.
A hidden account.
Offshore.
Anonymous.
Containing nearly two hundred million dollars.
Money stolen from Escalante Holdings over several years.
Victor pointed toward the account holder.
"Look at the name."
Elena did.
And froze.
The account wasn't registered to Andrew.
Or Margaret.
Or Brenda.
It belonged to someone else entirely.
Someone Elena believed was dead.
The name stared back at her from the screen.
Michael Hartman.
Her father's former business rival.
The same man seen in the photographs.
The same man who disappeared five years ago.
The same man everyone believed had died overseas.
Victor swallowed.
"We checked."
Elena looked up.
"And?"
Victor's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Michael Hartman is alive."
The room fell silent.
A man thought dead.
A fortune hidden offshore.
A secret meeting before her father's death.
And Margaret somehow connected to all of it.
The puzzle pieces were finally moving.
But the picture forming beneath them was darker than Elena imagined.
Far darker.
Because if Michael Hartman was alive...
Then someone had spent years lying.
And whoever orchestrated the lie was powerful enough to fool everyone.
Including her.
Victor broke the silence.
"What do we do now?"
Elena slowly stood.
Determination burned in her eyes.
"We find him."
Outside the window, storm clouds gathered over the city.
The war was no longer about a company.
It was no longer about Andrew.
Or Brenda.
Or a failed marriage.
Now it was about the truth.
And somewhere beyond those clouds, a man who was supposed to be dead was waiting.
A man who held the final secret.
The secret that could either destroy Elena...
May you like
Or give her everything she had lost.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 4...
