Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Took My Place
"Your husband never told you who originally ordered the changes to your records."
The stranger’s words stayed in the air.
Nobody moved.
Not Julian.
Not Sienna.
Not even me.
Because there was one thing I understood immediately.
This man was not here by accident.
He knew something.
Something Julian had spent a year hiding.
The man stepped closer.
He was in his late 40s, wearing a dark gray suit with a hospital identification badge hanging from his coat.
He looked at Julian with disappointment.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
And somehow, that felt worse.
"Who are you?" Julian asked.
The man ignored him.
His eyes stayed on me.
"My name is Marcus Hale."
I waited.
Because names meant nothing anymore.
Not after everything I had learned.
People could call themselves friends.
Partners.
Family.
And still destroy your life behind your back.
Marcus glanced at the documents in Dr. Vance’s hand.
"You finally found them."
Dr. Vance nodded.
"It took longer than expected."
Julian looked between them.
"You two know each other?"
Nobody answered.
And that silence told me enough.
Julian wasn't in control of this conversation.
For the first time in years, he was standing in a room where everyone else knew something he didn't.
And I watched him experience the same feeling I had lived with for twelve months.
Confusion.
Betrayal.
Fear.
"What is happening?" Julian demanded.
Marcus finally looked at him.
"The question is not what is happening."
He paused.
"The question is how much of the truth you were never allowed to see."
Julian’s face tightened.
"I don't understand."
I almost laughed.
Because that was exactly what he wanted me to believe for a year.
That I didn't understand.
That I was confused.
That I was emotional.
That I was wrong.
Now he was standing in my place.
And he hated it.
Dr. Vance carefully placed the documents back inside the envelope.
"Marcus was one of the investigators reviewing the original company records."
Julian looked at him.
"Investigator?"
Marcus nodded.
"After suspicious transfers appeared in your company accounts, the board hired an independent review team."
Julian immediately became defensive.
"There were no suspicious transfers."
Marcus looked at him.
"There were several."
The hallway became silent again.
Sienna’s face changed.
She looked down.
And I noticed something.
Julian noticed too.
"You knew."
His voice was quiet.
Sienna didn't answer.
"Sienna."
This time, his voice sounded different.
Not angry.
Not yet.
It sounded hurt.
That surprised me.
Because for the first time, I saw Julian realize that betrayal was not something that only happened to him.
Sienna swallowed.
"I was trying to protect us."
I stared at her.
Those words.
That excuse.
People always used the same words when they hurt someone.
I was protecting you.
I was helping you.
I was doing what was necessary.
But protecting someone never required destroying another person.
"What did you change?" Julian asked.
Sienna looked at him.
"I didn't change anything."
Marcus stepped forward.
"That's not true."
Sienna froze.
Marcus continued.
"You submitted altered financial reports to the board."
Julian looked shocked.
"No."
Marcus turned toward him.
"Yes."
"You’re saying Sienna did that?"
"I’m saying she was involved."
The baby started crying.
Sienna immediately adjusted him in her arms.
For a second, she looked like the woman I used to know.
The woman who brought me coffee when I worked late.
The woman who knew my favorite restaurant.
The woman who cried with me when Julian and I lost another chance at having a child.
Then I remembered.
She also knew my passwords.
She knew my schedule.
She knew my weaknesses.
She knew exactly how to hurt me.
And she used all of it.
"Why?" I finally asked.
Everyone looked at me.
Especially Sienna.
My voice stayed calm.
That seemed to surprise her.
"Why did you do this?"
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she whispered.
"You had everything."
I stared at her.
"What?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
Not regret.
Something else.
Resentment.
"You had Julian."
The words felt unreal.
"You had the company."
She looked around the hallway.
"You had everyone believing you were perfect."
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Because that was the story she had created.
She had convinced herself I deserved to lose everything because she wanted my life.
"I was your friend."
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
The guilt.
The first real emotion she couldn't hide.
"I know."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You knew me."
That was different.
Friends know where your heart is.
Enemies only know where to hurt you.
Julian stepped between us.
"Sienna."
She looked at him.
And I saw something.
A crack.
The perfect picture they created was breaking.
"You told me Olivia's medical records proved she couldn't have children."
My stomach tightened.
Sienna looked away.
Julian continued.
"You told me she was unstable."
Silence.
"You told me leaving her was the only choice."
Sienna whispered.
"Julian..."
"No."
His voice became colder.
"Tell me the truth."
For years, I had wanted Julian to ask that question.
I just never imagined he would ask it to someone else.
Dr. Vance opened the envelope again.
"There is more."
Nobody looked away.
He removed another document.
"This is a communication record."
Julian frowned.
"Between who?"
Dr. Vance looked at me.
Then at Sienna.
"Between Sienna Blake and someone inside Carter Enterprises."
Julian’s face changed.
"Who?"
Dr. Vance didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he handed the paper to Julian.
Julian read the first line.
Then the second.
His expression slowly disappeared.
"What is this?"
Nobody responded.
I watched his fingers tighten around the paper.
Because whatever he was reading was worse than the medical records.
Worse than the divorce.
Worse than losing control of the company.
"Julian?"
Sienna stepped forward.
But he moved away from her.
That small movement said everything.
He didn't trust her anymore.
"What did you promise them?" he asked.
Sienna froze.
"I didn't promise anyone anything."
Julian looked at the document again.
"You wrote that you would handle Olivia."
My heart stopped.
The hallway suddenly felt too small.
Marcus looked at me.
Dr. Vance lowered his eyes.
And I understood.
This was bigger than Julian and Sienna.
Someone else had been behind everything.
Someone who wanted me gone.
Someone who wanted Julian distracted.
Someone who wanted the company.
"Who was it?" I asked.
Nobody answered.
Julian looked at Sienna.
And for the first time, he looked afraid of her.
"Tell her."
Sienna’s eyes filled with panic.
"I can't."
Julian stepped closer.
"You owe her the truth."
Sienna shook her head.
"No."
She looked toward the elevator.
Like she was searching for a way out.
Then her phone rang.
The sound cut through the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Sienna looked at the screen.
And all the color disappeared from her face.
I saw the name.
Because she accidentally turned the phone toward me.
A name I recognized.
A name I never expected to see.
My father’s name.
Then Sienna answered.
And before she could speak, a voice came through the phone.
May you like
A voice from someone who was supposed to be gone forever.
"Olivia cannot know the truth about what happened the night her father disappeared."
