Chapter 4 - The Fiancée Who Played A Long Game
Michael invited Ashley to his penthouse at 7 p.m. that night, pretending everything was fine. He texted her: Had a rough day. Need you. Wine is chilled. She wrote back 30 seconds later: On my way, baby. So glad you’re finally seeing Emily for what she is.
He set up three hidden mics around the living room—one in the lamp, one in the bookshelf, one in the coffee table—and poured two glasses of pinot noir. He sat on the couch, his face schooled into the tired, grateful expression she was used to, and waited.
She showed up 20 minutes early, wearing a tight white dress, her hair blown out perfect, carrying a designer shopping bag. “I picked up your favorite cigars,” she said, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “And I talked to the wedding planner. We can move the date up to October if you want. Fall weddings are so romantic.”
Michael forced a smile, handed her the wine. “Sounds great. Ash… I’ve been thinking. About Emily. You were right about her all along. I was stupid to ever doubt you.”
Ashley’s smile widened. She sat down next to him, curled her legs under her, and took a long sip of wine. “Of course I was right, baby. I’ve always had your back. That woman was a leech. I saw it the first day you brought her around. All that ‘I don’t care about money’ act? Please. She was just waiting to trap you with a baby. Thank god we got her out before she could.”
Michael’s hand tightened around his glass. “Yeah. Thank god. Hey—how did you know to tell security to check her closet for the necklace, anyway? That was lucky.”
She laughed, light and easy, and traced a finger down his arm. “Not lucky. I’m just good at reading people. I knew she’d hide it somewhere obvious. She’s not that smart.”
“Right.” Michael leaned back, keeping his voice casual. “And the hotel photos? How’d you get those so fast? I remember you showed up at the house with them 10 minutes after the bank called about the wires.”
Ashley paused for half a second—just long enough for Michael to see the flicker of panic in her eyes before she covered it with another laugh. “I have a friend who works at the hotel. He texted me when he saw her. Simple as that.”
“Funny.” Michael pulled his phone out, pulled up the audit report David had sent him that afternoon, and set it on the coffee table between them. “Because David just sent me the IT guy’s sworn statement. Says you paid him $25k to doctor those photos. Says the original is Emily dropping off school supplies. Says you also paid him to fake the wire transfers. Says you paid the hospital clerk $8k to erase Emily’s intake form when she had the twins.”
The room went dead quiet. Ashley’s smile didn’t fade, but her eyes went cold, hard as flint. She set her wine glass down slow, deliberate. “What is this, Michael? You’re not actually believing that trash over me, are you? She’s paying that PI to lie. She just wants your money—”
“Then explain this.” Michael hit play on the recording David had gotten from the IT guy, the one where Ashley was on the phone telling him exactly how to route the fake wires, exactly how to doctor the photo, promising him another $50k if he kept his mouth shut. Her voice, clear as day, filled the penthouse: Once I’m Mrs. Hale, you’ll never have to work another day in your life. Just make sure Michael never finds out the truth about that pregnant bitch.
Ashley stood up fast, knocking over her wine glass. Red liquid spread across the white marble coffee table like blood. “You bugged me? You ungrateful bastard—after everything I did for you! I saved you from her! I gave up a year of my life taking care of you while you cried over a woman who never deserved you!”
“You didn’t save me,” Michael said, standing up too, his voice booming off the high ceilings. “You destroyed me. You threw my wife and my newborn twins out on the street. You stole a year of my kids’ lives from me. You played me for a fool for 18 months while you and my mom and Robert planned to steal my company right out from under me.”
He pulled up the wedding plans folder he’d found in his mom’s safe, tossed the papers at her feet. “You were planning the wedding before Emily was even gone. You never loved me. You loved the money. You loved the name. You loved the idea of being the most powerful woman in the city.”
Ashley stared at the papers on the floor, and then she laughed—a sharp, ugly, unhinged sound. “Fine! You wanna know the truth? You were easy, Michael. So wrapped up in your own pride you couldn’t see what was right in front of your face. Emily loved you so much she would’ve let you walk all over her forever. That’s boring. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to build something. And you know what? I would’ve gotten away with it too, if you hadn’t seen her on that stupid roadside. One more month and we would’ve been married. One more year and Robert would’ve transferred half the company into our names. You would’ve never known.”
She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a snarl. “And those twins? They’re just more leverage. She’ll use them to suck you dry. You’ll see. She’ll take every penny you have and then leave you just like you left her. You deserve it. You deserve to be alone.”
Michael reached into his pocket, pulled out her engagement ring, and dropped it on the coffee table. “Get out. The wedding’s off. All your credit cards are frozen. My lawyers are filing a $42 million fraud lawsuit against you tomorrow morning. If you ever come within 100 feet of me, Emily, or the twins, I’ll have you arrested. And don’t even think about selling your story to the tabloids. I have enough evidence to put you in prison for 10 years. Now. Get. Out.”
She screamed, grabbed the lamp off the end table and threw it at him. He ducked. It shattered against the wall behind him. “You’ll regret this! You’ll all regret it! I’ll make sure you lose everything! That whore and her brats will pay for this!”
Security was waiting outside the penthouse door. They grabbed her arms when she stormed out, escorted her to the elevator. Michael stood in the doorway, watching her kick and scream, and felt nothing. No anger. No sadness. Just empty.
He closed the door, locked it, and slid down to the floor. The penthouse was quiet now, the only sound the drip of the spilled wine soaking into the rug. He’d won this battle. He’d exposed her. But the cost had been so high. A year of his life. A year of his kids’ lives. A relationship with his mother that would never be fixed.
His phone rang an hour later. It was David. “You see the news? Ashley just called every tabloid in the city. Told them you’re a deadbeat dad who abandoned Emily and the twins, that you threatened her when she found out. Page Six already posted it. It’s trending number one on Twitter.”
Michael sighed, rubbing his face. He’d expected this. She was a cornered animal. She’d lash out any way she could. “Let her. We have the proof. It’ll all come out soon enough. David? Find me Robert. I want to talk to him face to face tomorrow. At the office. In front of the entire board.”
May you like
He hung up, walked to the window, and looked out over the city. Somewhere down there, Emily was sleeping in a minivan with his babies, unaware that the woman who’d destroyed her life was already plotting her next move. Michael made a silent promise: no matter what Ashley did, no matter how dirty she fought, he would protect Emily and the twins. Even if it cost him every last dollar he had.
(Word count: 1519)
