Chapter 7: The Mistress's Billion-Dollar Scheme
My Husband Ordered Two Hundred Strikes—Then He Learned Who My Father Really Was
Chapter 7: The Mistress's Billion-Dollar Scheme
Greed rarely begins with billions.
It begins with one small lie.
One forged signature.
One hidden account.
One person convincing themselves that no one will ever notice.
For Celeste Monroe...
The first lie had been easy.
The billion-dollar conspiracy that followed was much harder to hide.
The underground command center beneath Blackthorn Manor remained silent after Edward Sinclair's recorded message ended.
No one spoke.
Richard Carter stared at the frozen image on the screen, struggling to reconcile the smiling man before him with the friend he had trusted for more than thirty years.
Edward had attended family birthdays.
He had stood beside Richard at Evelyn's graduation.
He had carried Evelyn on his shoulders when she was a little girl.
He was family.
Or so Richard had believed.
Marcus Hale finally broke the silence.
"The recording was made eighteen months ago."
Richard looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"The file's encryption signature."
Marcus enlarged several lines of hidden metadata.
"It passed through a server owned by Monroe Strategic Consulting."
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
"Celeste."
Marcus nodded.
"She didn't just work for Edward."
"She managed his operation."
At the Federal Financial Crimes Division, investigators had spent the entire night reconstructing Ashford Global's transactions.
Rows of analysts examined millions of wire transfers.
Most appeared ordinary.
Shipping payments.
Insurance settlements.
Fuel contracts.
Warehouse leases.
But forensic accountant Julia Hayes noticed something unusual.
Every quarter, dozens of tiny consulting payments—never more than a few hundred thousand dollars each—flowed into companies connected to Celeste Monroe.
Individually, they attracted no attention.
Together...
They exceeded 1.8 billion dollars.
Julia immediately called Agent Michael Grant.
"You need to see this."
Grant arrived within minutes.
Julia projected the financial map onto a wall-sized screen.
Hundreds of shell companies lit up across Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Each one traced back to the same ultimate beneficiary.
Celeste Monroe.
Grant frowned.
"Impossible."
"She wasn't wealthy before joining Ashford Global."
Julia smiled grimly.
"She wasn't."
"She became wealthy because Ashford Global paid her."
Meanwhile, Nathan sat in another interrogation room reviewing the evidence.
When Agent Grant entered, he placed a single photograph on the table.
It showed Celeste stepping off a private yacht in Monaco.
Nathan stared at it.
"When was this?"
"Three years ago."
"I was in Singapore that week."
Grant nodded.
"You were negotiating a shipping contract."
Nathan looked confused.
"She told me she was visiting her sick mother."
Grant slid another document forward.
"She purchased that yacht the same week."
Nathan slowly lowered his head.
Every explanation Celeste had ever given him suddenly felt hollow.
Back at Carter Headquarters, Marcus unlocked another server recovered from Blackthorn Manor.
This one contained only one folder.
Project Orchid
Unlike Project Phoenix, the files had survived intact.
Inside were thousands of confidential reports.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
Psychological evaluations.
Target profiles.
Every document centered on influential CEOs, politicians, judges, and investors.
Each profile ended with one recommendation.
Recommended Companion Candidate.
Richard looked puzzled.
"What is this?"
Marcus read the accompanying notes.
"It's a recruitment program."
Evelyn frowned.
"For employees?"
Marcus shook his head.
"For manipulation."
Project Orchid had one purpose.
Identify ambitious men with growing influence.
Introduce carefully selected women into their lives.
Gain emotional control.
Then slowly redirect financial authority.
Celeste Monroe was listed as Candidate O-17.
Her assignment file was nearly two hundred pages long.
Target:
Nathan Ashford
Objective:
Acquire operational influence over Ashford Global Logistics.
Estimated Completion:
Five Years.
Actual Completion:
Three Years, Four Months.
Evelyn closed the file.
"So none of it was real."
Marcus answered quietly.
"Not from the beginning."
Nathan was brought into the operations center later that afternoon under federal escort.
Richard wanted him to see the truth for himself.
Marcus projected Celeste's recruitment file onto the screen.
Nathan read every page in silence.
His first meeting with Celeste.
Their "accidental" encounter at a leadership conference.
The coffee she spilled on his suit.
The long conversations.
The admiration she pretended to feel.
Even the first night they spent together.
Every moment had been planned months in advance.
Nathan whispered,
"I loved her."
Evelyn looked at him sadly.
"No."
"You loved the version she created."
Marcus opened another encrypted video.
The recording showed Edward Sinclair speaking to Celeste in a private office.
Edward smiled proudly.
"How is Mr. Ashford progressing?"
Celeste returned the smile.
"He trusts me completely."
"And his wife?"
Celeste's expression turned cold.
"She'll become irrelevant."
Edward nodded.
"Excellent."
"Never underestimate a lonely man."
"He'll always choose the person who feeds his ego."
Nathan shut his eyes.
He could no longer watch.
For years, he had believed he was making independent decisions.
He had mocked Evelyn for being "too quiet."
Ignored loyal executives.
Dismissed honest auditors.
Rejected every warning.
Not because he had been hypnotized.
Because someone had learned exactly how to manipulate his pride.
Late that evening, another discovery shook the investigation.
Julia Hayes rushed into the command center holding an encrypted hard drive.
"We found Celeste's personal ledger."
Marcus immediately connected it to the system.
Rows of coded payments appeared.
Each transfer corresponded to one completed objective.
Board member replaced.
Judge influenced.
Government contract secured.
Shipping route approved.
Then one final payment.
Operation Ashfall
Reward:
$500,000,000
Status:
Pending.
Richard frowned.
"What was Operation Ashfall?"
Marcus searched the supporting documents.
The room fell silent as the final page appeared.
Target:
Evelyn Carter Ashford
Objective:
Permanent Removal
Preferred Method:
Domestic Incident
Primary Suspect:
Nathan Ashford
Estimated Public Outcome:
Death caused by emotional instability following marital dispute.
Nathan's face lost all color.
"No..."
Marcus looked directly at him.
"You were never meant to survive this."
Nathan stared at the screen.
"What?"
Richard answered quietly.
"Once Evelyn died..."
"You would have taken the blame."
"And while the world focused on your trial..."
Edward Sinclair and the Phoenix Circle would have disappeared with billions."
Nathan felt sick.
The whip.
The disabled cameras.
The dismissed staff.
The fabricated story about Evelyn attacking Celeste.
Everything had been designed to make him look guilty.
Because he was guilty.
Just not in the way he had imagined.
Before anyone could speak again, alarms echoed through the operations center.
A cybersecurity analyst shouted,
"Incoming transmission!"
Marcus opened the secure channel.
A distorted voice filled the room.
Calm.
Confident.
Almost amused.
"Good evening, Richard."
Richard's expression hardened.
"Edward."
The voice chuckled.
"You've uncovered Celeste's little project."
"Congratulations."
"But you're still one step behind."
Richard remained silent.
Edward continued.
"You think Project Orchid was my masterpiece."
A pause.
"It wasn't."
"It was only the recruitment program."
Another pause.
"The real operation..."
The connection crackled.
"...has already begun."
The transmission ended.
At the same moment, every screen in the command center flashed red.
Across the world, Carter International's financial systems detected simultaneous unauthorized withdrawals.
Not millions.
Not billions.
Twenty-four billion dollars.
Someone had just launched the largest financial theft in modern history.
And the mastermind was no longer hiding behind Celeste Monroe.
May you like
He was finally stepping into the light.
End of Chapter 7
