Gathering More Evidence

Chapter 5: Gathering More Evidence

His phone buzzed just as he was pulling his car key from his pocket.

"Who is it? Terrible timing."

"Give me a second." Glenn stepped away from Zara. "What is it?"

"Oh — I forgot to mention." Anaya's voice was perfectly pleasant. "The car you usually drive? I'm going to need it for myself."

"What happened to your car?"

"I sold it. Along with Amber's. All the cars are getting replaced — fleet upgrade. In the meantime, ours is the one I'll be using."

A long pause. "Fine."

He hung up, jaw tight. "Take a rideshare," he told Zara. "She wants the car."

"Are you serious?" Zara's voice went sharp. "Why do you even stay married to her? Don't wait a month. Marry me now."

"Not yet. Go home before someone sees you." He watched her until she was inside a car, then turned back to the building.

He didn't notice Anaya watching from the second-floor window. She watched the whole exchange — his hand on the small of Zara's back, Zara's hand catching at his sleeve, the quick press of lips before he stepped away. She watched with a completely flat expression.

He came back in furious and walked straight into the CEO office.

"You're angry that I fired Zara?" Anaya asked, from behind her own desk. "Is something going on between you two?"

"This has nothing to do with that. Zara got that job through Gina's recommendation. It's awkward."

"Does Gina own this company?"

"God, you're—" He stopped himself. "You're so selfish."

She kept her voice even. "I'm selfish for wanting to return to work? You don't know what it's like being stuck at home for months. And for what it's worth — I'll lend the CEO position back to you after the baby comes. Four more months, Glenn."

The tension went out of him so fast it was almost funny. "After you have the baby, the job comes back to me?" He almost smiled. "You should've said that from the start — I would've understood."

"You didn't ask." She stood. "Come on. You're driving me to a meeting now."

He went. He was in a good enough mood about the four-month promise to manage it.

Four months, he thought. I can hold it together for four months.

He didn't know that four months was a fantasy.

Across town, Vance was on the phone with Rachel, a stack of Anaya's property documents spread across his desk.

"Everything is original. Nothing's been transferred or re-titled. She's safe on the asset side."

"Good — they haven't made their move yet," Rachel said. "How long will the divorce filing take?"

"Thirty days maximum, but I'll push for faster. The tricky part is that technically a pregnant woman isn't supposed to initiate divorce proceedings — there are protections. But Glenn's circumstances are different. He has a pregnant mistress. We need to document the affair thoroughly, from as far back as possible, before Zara was pregnant."

"The hidden cameras — did you arrange to pull that footage?"

"I nearly forgot. I'll send someone in tomorrow. Maintenance cover." He made a note. "Don't worry. I understand what Anaya means to you."

"You'd better. Because if you let her down—"

"I won't." He smiled at his desk. "Also I should mention — Zara is in a stolen apartment right now. Bought with money taken from the company."

"You're serious."

"As a court filing. I'll put together the full picture."

The apartment was technically Gilang's — except he'd paid for it with funds diverted from Anaya's company without her knowledge. A luxury unit in the center of the city, registered to his personal name. He'd been using it for a year and a half.

Zara sat in the middle of it and raged.

"That insufferable woman. Who does she think she is, walking in and taking everything back like she owns—" She caught herself. "Well. She does own it. That's the problem."

She pressed her hands to her stomach and thought.

Glenn is going to be mine. Everything Anaya has will be ours. I just need to keep the plan moving.

She'd never loved her first husband. He had been a favor, a debt her family owed. A marriage of obligation to a man she found boring and beneath her. After two weeks she had arranged a small matter involving his car's brakes. One accident. Problem resolved. She'd arrived at Gina's house — her best friend's house — wearing widow's black and heartbreak like a costume, and she'd spent the months since placing herself carefully in Glenn's orbit.

It had worked.

The only complication was that Glenn's wife was not, as it turned out, as simple to outmaneuver as Zara had expected. Anaya was supposed to be naive. She was supposed to be lovesick and compliant. Instead she had walked back into her own company and fired Zara in the same afternoon.

Her family's company is in trouble, Zara reminded herself. That's still leverage. Glenn just needs to stay focused.

In the morning Anaya wasn't in the kitchen.

Gina came downstairs to an empty table. "Mom, it's almost noon and there's nothing—"

"She must still be sleeping." Amber didn't look up from her tea.

"I'm hungry. Cook something."

"Cook it yourself. You have a husband, doesn't he deserve a meal? Or are you letting him eat out every day while you wait for his paycheck?"

"Let him eat out. It's just food."

Adrian had already left — out the door before anyone else was up, same as every morning. He was tall, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned. He never said more than he had to. He'd been coming home late and leaving early for five years. No one had ever seen him smile at Gina, and Gina had stopped expecting it.

Their marriage was a trap. He knew it. She knew it. Neither of them wanted to be the first to say so out loud.

Gina gave up on cooking and ordered delivery. When she went to pay through her bank app, the screen gave her an error.

"Mom — lend me some cash. My accounts are blocked."

"Mine too," said Amber, checking her own phone. "What's happening?"

Anaya appeared at the top of the stairs, came down at an unhurried pace, and walked to her bedroom.

"Glenn — time to get up. I have a meeting."

He stirred. "Why didn't you sleep in our room?"

"I fell asleep reading in the guest room." She pulled his closet open and set a fresh shirt on the foot of the bed. "Are you going to ask if I was avoiding you?"

"...Were you?"

"Why would I avoid my own husband?" She pulled her neckline straight, watched him from the corner of her eye. "I'm always happy when you want to be close to me." She reached for the hem of her dress and started to lift it. "We have twenty minutes before we need to leave."

He was out of the bed in two steps. Then he stopped himself.

"I'm going to shower first." He headed for the bathroom without meeting her eyes. "Later."

She let him go.

The bathroom door clicked shut. She smoothed her dress back down and looked at the ceiling.

Once in twelve months, she thought. And that was because I drugged his coffee.

By midday, Vance's people had been to both the house and the company posing as air-conditioning technicians. They found every hidden camera — fourteen in total — and pulled the complete footage: everything from the day Amber's family had first moved in.

"Miss Anaya. It's all secured."

She read the message twice.

All of it. From the beginning.

She typed back: Thank you. Send everything encrypted.

She was going to have a very complete picture of the past year.

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***