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Ethan
I freaking hate long-ass meetings like this. I look down at my watch and see that it’s almost six o’clock. I told Liz that I’d be home soon, and I intend to keep that promise. I wish I could text her to check on her, but unfortunately, I left my cell phone on the desk in my office.
My brother Jake loves to talk. Two hours. That’s how long I’ve been sitting here in this meeting. He’s trying to close a deal with a potential big client, and he asked that I sit in and offer up some of my suggestions. However, I haven’t been able to offer much to the meeting because my thoughts are most definitely elsewhere.
I shake myself out of my thoughts of Liz to hear Jake speaking to our client. “I want to thank you for coming in. We look forward to working with you on this project.”
We all stand up, and I hold out my hand. “Yes, thank you. Please feel free to call if you think of any other questions.”
Jake and I walk the client out of the conference room and to the elevators. After saying our goodbyes, I turn to Jake.
“I gotta get out of here. I have plans with Liz.”
He raises his eyebrows. “And how’s that going? She’s still planning on leaving?”
I can’t help it. I smile really big because I’m just so happy. “No, I think I’ve convinced her that staying is the only possible scenario. I plan to talk to her about it tonight, but I feel really good about the conversation.”
“Good to hear. Let me know what happens.” He cocks his head to the side. “Is that your phone ringing?”
“Oh shit, yeah, it might be Liz. Let me grab that.”
I jog into my office and flip over my phone. No, not Liz. It’s the private investigator, Peyton Douglas—oh good, maybe an update. We haven’t heard anything all week.
“Ms. Douglas, how are you?”
“Mr. Anders, is Liz with you?” she asks urgently, without answering my question.
“No, she’s at home. Why?”
Peyton breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, as long as she’s home with her bodyguard, we’re good. Listen, I have an update, and you aren’t going to like it.”
Her eerie tone of voice is setting off alarms of concern. “What’s wrong?”
Peyton clears her throat before answering the phone. “We’ve been doing some digging into both Mr. and Mrs. Ellington. Untangling this mess took longer than usual, but we’ve uncovered some concerning information. First, I believe that Mrs. Ellington does not actually suffer from any sort of psychiatric condition. I believe that Trent Ellington hasbeen offering bribes in the hopes of having his wife diagnosed as mentally unstable.”
Curiosity has me asking, “You really believe that Trent is trying to make it look like his wife is crazy? That he’d go as far as offering bribes?”
“Yes, the evidence points that way,” Peyton confirms.
I run my hands through my hair as I think about what the private investigator just revealed. I don’t like the guy, but I find it hard to believe Trent would do something like that to his own wife.
“But why would Trent want to make his wife look crazy? It doesn’t make any sense. It would hurt his own image if she were to look bad. From what I know of Trent, his image is very important.”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Anders, it makes perfect sense. The reason is money. It turns out that Mrs. Ellington is the one who filed for divorce from her husband. She did so without Mr. Ellington knowing about it. According to their prenup, Mrs. Ellington would leave with the majority of their estate. It turns out she came into the marriage with far more money than Mr. Ellington did. When Mr. Ellington found out his wife was leaving him, he had her committed to a psychiatric hospital.”
I don’t want to doubt Peyton, but nothing about this makes sense. My mind is trying to come to terms with what she’s telling me, but I don’t get it. “Why would he do that? To prevent the divorce from going through? That seems extreme.”
Peyton sighs into the phone. “With the amount of money we’re talking about, anything is possible. And we’re talking many millions. If his wife demands a divorce, Trent wouldn’t be left with much. Despite what he led others to believe, he didn’t have much when he came into the marriage. Which makes him desperate enough to do almost anything to save his reputation . . . and the wealth he had only through marriage.”
“But aren’t they still getting a divorce?”
Peyton pauses and gives a mirthless laugh. “Funny you should ask that question. Mr. Anders. Mrs. Ellington has filed a Notice of Discontinuance. In other words, they are no longer getting a divorce,” she explains. “This document effectively ends the divorce agreement once approved. I’m guessing that Trent leveraged the threat of keeping his wife in the psychiatric ward, and she, therefore, decided to stay married to him.”
I shake my head in confusion but then realize Peyton can’t see me through the phone. “If Mrs. Ellington isn’t crazy, why is she going after Liz? Because she thinks her husband and Liz are having an affair? That’s not the actions of a sane person.”
“I no longer believe Mrs. Ellington is the one sending Liz the notes.” She pauses. “I believe it was her husband, Mr. Ellington.”
At first, I don’t think I heard Peyton correctly, and then a wave of nausea washes over me. “I hate the guy, but no, I can’t . . . I can’t believe that he’d terrorize her like that. And for what reason? Do you have any proof?”
