Chapter 5 — The Other Woman
Chapter 5 — The Other Woman
I didn't sleep that night.
Not because of Tyler.
Not because of Denise.
Because of one name.
Sabrina.
I had seen it before.
I just hadn't known what it meant.
It was buried inside the financial records I'd downloaded the night before.
A series of payments.
Small at first.
Then larger.
Always from an account connected to Tyler.
I had assumed Sabrina was an employee.
A consultant.
Someone connected to one of his investments.
Now I knew better.
At 8:12 the next morning, I sat across from Rachel with the brown envelope between us.
She read Denise's handwritten note twice.
Then she placed it on the table.
“Where did you get this?”
“Evan gave it to me.”
“Does Evan know you have it?”
“Yes.”
“Did he give you anything else?”
“No.”
Rachel nodded slowly.
“This is important.”
“I know.”
“It establishes intent.”
“Can it prove everything?”
“Not by itself.”
I looked at her.
“But it's a beginning.”
“Yes.”
She opened another folder.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
She turned her laptop toward me.
“We traced the payments from Family Future.”
I leaned forward.
“Where did they go?”
“Several places.”
“Which means?”
“Some went to properties.”
“Some?”
“Some went to personal accounts.”
“Whose?”
Rachel paused.
“One belongs to a woman named Sabrina Cole.”
My stomach tightened.
“How much?”
“Approximately eighty-seven thousand dollars.”
I stared at the number.
“Over what period?”
“Seven months.”
“Who is she?”
“We're still checking.”
I already knew what I wanted to do.
“Find her.”
Rachel looked at me.
“Olivia—”
“I don't want to confront her.”
“Good.”
“I want to talk to her.”
“Only if we know what we're walking into.”
I nodded.
Rachel slid a photograph across the table.
A woman with long dark hair.
Early thirties.
Elegant.
Confident.
She was standing outside a restaurant beside a black sedan.
I recognized her.
My breath caught.
“I've seen her.”
“Where?”
“At Tyler's company event last year.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow.
“She was introduced as a consultant.”
I looked at the photograph.
“No.”
“What?”
“She wasn't a consultant.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Tyler introduced her to me.”
I remembered that evening.
The rooftop restaurant.
The champagne.
The investors.
Tyler had walked over with a woman in a red dress.
“Olivia, this is Sabrina. She's helping us with strategic planning.”
Sabrina had smiled.
“It's lovely to finally meet you.”
Finally.
At the time, I hadn't thought anything of it.
Now the word felt different.
Finally.
As if she had known about me long before I knew about her.
I found Sabrina's address by noon.
She lived in a luxury apartment downtown.
I didn't tell Rachel I was going.
I simply drove there.
I wasn't looking for a fight.
I wanted answers.
The building had private security.
I gave the receptionist my name.
“She knows me,” I lied.
The woman checked the system.
“Sabrina Cole?”
“Yes.”
“She isn't expecting you.”
“That's okay.”
The receptionist hesitated.
Then a voice came from behind me.
“Let her up.”
I turned.
Sabrina stood near the elevators.
She wore a cream-colored coat and black boots.
She looked calm.
Almost too calm.
“Olivia.”
I stared at her.
“You know who I am.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
She looked at the receptionist.
“Give us a minute.”
The woman walked away.
Sabrina turned back to me.
“You should come upstairs.”
I didn't move.
“Why?”
“Because if you're going to ask me questions, you should hear the answers somewhere private.”
I followed her.
Her apartment was beautiful.
Minimalist.
Expensive.
Cold.
There were no family photographs.
No wedding pictures.
Nothing personal.
Sabrina poured two glasses of water.
I didn't touch mine.
“Sit.”
I sat.
She remained standing.
“You're here because of Tyler.”
“Yes.”
“I assumed you would come eventually.”
I stared at her.
“Eventually?”
She smiled sadly.
“You were always going to find out.”
“Find out what?”
She sat across from me.
“That your husband has been lying to you.”
I laughed.
“I already know that.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You know he lied.”
“You're saying there's more?”
“Much more.”
I leaned forward.
“Are you sleeping with my husband?”
Sabrina didn't flinch.
“Yes.”
The answer came so easily that it hurt more than I expected.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
I looked away.
Eight months.
While I had been arranging family dinners.
While I had been paying medical bills.
While I had been planning vacations.
While Tyler told me he was working late.
Eight months.
“Why?”
Sabrina frowned.
“Why what?”
“Why would you do this?”
She looked at me.
“Because Tyler told me he was leaving you.”
I stared at her.
“He told me your marriage was already over.”
I almost smiled.
“Of course he did.”
“He said you were separating.”
“We weren't.”
“I know that now.”
“You knew I was his wife.”
“Yes.”
“And you still slept with him.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“Then why should I believe anything you say?”
“Because I have proof.”
That stopped me.
She reached for a drawer.
Pulled out a phone.
Then placed it on the table.
“There are messages.”
I didn't touch it.
“What messages?”
“Between Tyler and me.”
“About the affair?”
“About you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What about me?”
She unlocked the phone.
“Read.”
I picked it up.
The first message was from Tyler.
She still trusts me.
Another:
Give it another six months.
Another:
Once the business transfer is done, I'll file.
I scrolled.
My hands started shaking.
She'll think it's because we grew apart.
Then:
Mom says don't rush it.
I looked at Sabrina.
“His mother knew.”
Sabrina nodded.
“She knew everything.”
I kept reading.
If Olivia signs the final agreement, we own enough to control the company.
My blood went cold.
“What final agreement?”
Sabrina shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You must know something.”
“I know what Tyler told me.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That you were supposed to sign a restructuring agreement.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
I thought of the forged documents.
The marriage asset agreement.
The corporate transfer.
The fake signature.
My chest tightened.
“Why did he need you?”
Sabrina looked uncomfortable.
“I was supposed to become his public partner after the divorce.”
I stared at her.
“Public partner?”
“Yes.”
“You were going to marry him?”
“That was the plan.”
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“You thought he loved you?”
“I did.”
“Does he?”
She looked away.
“No.”
I sat down.
“What happened?”
“He stopped pretending.”
“When?”
“About two months ago.”
“Why?”
“He got what he wanted from me.”
“What did he want?”
Sabrina hesitated.
“Information.”
I looked at her.
“What information?”
“About your company.”
My blood ran cold.
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing important.”
“Don't lie to me.”
She looked at me.
“I gave him access to an investor database.”
I closed my eyes.
“What else?”
“A list of your major clients.”
My stomach dropped.
“What else?”
“Your expansion plans.”
I stood.
“You helped him.”
“Yes.”
“You helped him steal my company.”
“I didn't know that's what he was doing.”
“You knew he was married.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he wanted your help.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he was lying.”
“I know.”
“And you still helped him.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I thought I was helping my future husband.”
I stared at her.
Then I understood something.
Sabrina wasn't the mastermind.
She was another person Tyler had manipulated.
Different method.
Same result.
I sat down again.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he betrayed me too.”
I looked at her.
“What did he do?”
“He found someone else.”
“Who?”
Sabrina swallowed.
“Another woman.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“I don't know her name.”
“Where is she?”
“That's the problem.”
“What problem?”
“She disappeared.”
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
Sabrina lowered her voice.
“Three weeks ago, Tyler told me she had become a liability.”
My heart stopped.
“What kind of liability?”
“She knew too much.”
I felt a chill.
“What happened to her?”
“I don't know.”
“Did Tyler hurt her?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you ask?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Sabrina looked directly at me.
“He said…”
She hesitated.
“He said, ‘People who interfere with my plans have a way of disappearing.’”
The room suddenly felt cold.
I remembered Evan's warning.
Be careful.
I remembered Denise's question.
Is she still alive?
I looked at Sabrina.
“Do you have proof?”
She nodded.
“Some.”
“Show me.”
She opened another folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Receipts.
Hotel records.
Messages.
Then I saw one photograph.
Tyler.
Denise.
And a third person.
A man I had never seen before.
They were standing outside a warehouse.
The date was six weeks ago.
“What is this?”
“I don't know.”
“Who is the man?”
“His name is Marcus.”
“Marcus what?”
“Vale.”
I froze.
The name meant nothing to me.
Yet Sabrina looked frightened.
“Who is he?”
She lowered her voice.
“Tyler's real business partner.”
I stared at the photograph.
“Then who is Anderson Family Holdings?”
Sabrina looked at me.
“That's not the real company.”
“What?”
“It's a shell.”
“For what?”
“I don't know.”
I looked at the documents again.
One receipt had an address.
A warehouse.
I recognized it.
It was only fifteen minutes from my office.
I looked at Sabrina.
“What happens if I go there?”
She shook her head.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where Tyler keeps the things he doesn't want people to find.”
I stood.
“I need those things.”
“Olivia.”
I stopped.
Sabrina looked at me.
“If you're going to expose him, don't do it halfway.”
“What does that mean?”
“Make sure he can't destroy the evidence.”
I nodded.
Then I turned toward the door.
“Thank you.”
She looked surprised.
“You're thanking me?”
“You told me the truth.”
“I helped him hurt you.”
“Yes.”
“You should hate me.”
“Maybe someday.”
I opened the door.
“But right now, I have someone else to hate.”
I drove back to my office.
Rachel was waiting.
“You went to see Sabrina.”
It wasn't a question.
I nodded.
“What did she tell you?”
“Everything.”
I handed her the phone.
Rachel read the messages.
Her expression became increasingly serious.
“This is enough to establish a pattern.”
“Can we use it?”
“Possibly.”
“There's more.”
I told her about the warehouse.
Then I showed her the photograph.
Rachel stared at the man beside Tyler.
“Marcus Vale.”
“You know him?”
“No.”
She enlarged the image.
Then frowned.
“Wait.”
“What?”
She searched her database.
A minute passed.
Then she looked at me.
“This man has been involved in several companies that collapsed under suspicious circumstances.”
My stomach tightened.
“Is he dangerous?”
“I'm not sure.”
“But?”
“He's connected to private investment groups.”
“Which ones?”
She looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“Some of the same people who have invested in your competitors.”
I went still.
“This isn't just my husband.”
“No.”
Rachel closed the laptop.
“This may be an organized attempt to gain control of your company.”
I remembered Denise's note.
Make her trust him.
Make her family.
Then make everything hers become ours.
Suddenly, the pieces were fitting together.
Tyler.
Denise.
Evan.
Sabrina.
Marcus.
The shell company.
The forged signatures.
The insurance policy.
The stolen money.
The pool.
I looked at Rachel.
“What's the next move?”
She was silent for a moment.
Then she said:
“We don't confront them.”
“Why?”
“Because they think you don't know the whole story.”
“So?”
“We let them believe it.”
I understood.
“We make them comfortable.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Rachel smiled slightly.
“Then we take everything they thought they were going to take from you.”
That evening, I returned home.
Tyler was sitting in my living room.
I stopped.
“How did you get in?”
“I still have a key.”
“You shouldn't.”
“I came to talk.”
I looked at him.
He seemed different.
Calmer.
Almost affectionate.
“About what?”
“I want to fix this.”
I put my bag down.
“Fix what?”
“Us.”
I almost laughed.
But I didn't.
Instead, I walked closer.
“You're right.”
He looked surprised.
“I've been angry.”
“I know.”
“I've been hurt.”
“I know.”
“But maybe…”
I let the sentence hang.
“Maybe we should talk.”
His eyes softened.
“Thank you.”
I sat across from him.
For the first time since the pool, I smiled at my husband.
A real smile.
Or at least one that looked real.
Tyler relaxed.
He thought he had won.
He thought I was coming back.
He thought the woman sitting across from him was still the same woman who had trusted him with everything.
I reached across the table.
Took his hand.
And said the words he had been waiting to hear.
“I forgive you.”
His eyes filled with relief.
He squeezed my hand.
“Olivia…”
I smiled.
But beneath the table, my other hand was holding my phone.
Recording everything.
And Tyler had no idea.
Because the woman he thought he had broken was already preparing to destroy the life he had built behind her back.
This time, I wasn't going to fight him with anger.
May you like
I was going to fight him with the one thing he had never expected from me.
Proof.
