Chapter 6 - Valerie Knocked on My Door
Valerie found me six days later.
I had moved out of the hotel and into a temporary furnished apartment near Riverside Park.
Only three people knew the address.
Marcus.
Leo.
And my hospital administrator.
So when I opened the door and saw Valerie standing there, seven months pregnant and crying, my first emotion was not sympathy.
It was suspicion.
“How did you find me?”
“Leo.”
I looked over her shoulder.
“He didn’t tell me.”
“He didn’t.”
She wiped her face.
“I followed him.”
I almost closed the door.
“Sarah, please.”
That word again.
I hated it.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you the truth.”
“You should start with Arthur.”
“I already gave investigators everything.”
That made me pause.
“What everything?”
“Emails. Documents. Account passwords.”
I studied her.
“Why?”
Her expression collapsed.
“Because Arthur lied to me too.”
There are moments when a person you hate becomes human again.
I did not forgive her.
But I stepped aside.
She entered slowly.
The woman who had once walked through my home wearing designer dresses now looked exhausted.
Her hair was tied back.
Her coat was inexpensive.
Her hands trembled.
I poured water.
She sat at the kitchen table.
“Arthur told me you were separated.”
I said nothing.
“He said you stayed married for financial reasons.”
I stared at her.
“You attended Christmas dinner with us.”
“I know.”
“You watched him kiss me.”
Her eyes lowered.
“He said it was for Eleanor.”
“And you believed that?”
“I wanted to.”
At least that answer was truthful.
“How long?”
“Eleven months.”
“Before Leo?”
“Yes.”
I felt something inside me break quietly.
Not because Arthur had cheated.
I already knew that.
Because he had watched his son fall in love with the woman he was already sleeping with.
“Why did you date Leo?”
She cried harder.
“Arthur told me to.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He said it would give us cover.”
My stomach turned.
“And you agreed?”
“I thought it would be temporary.”
“You used him.”
“Yes.”
No excuses.
That surprised me.
“When did you become pregnant?”
“About seven months ago.”
“Did Arthur know immediately?”
“Yes.”
“And Leo?”
“He thought it was his.”
“Because you slept with him too.”
She covered her face.
“Yes.”
I stood and walked toward the window.
There were levels of betrayal I had not known existed.
Behind me, Valerie whispered.
“I was horrible.”
I turned.
“No argument.”
She nodded.
“I thought Arthur was going to leave you.”
“And marry you?”
“Yes.”
“Did Eleanor know?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“When I was three months pregnant.”
I sat again.
“What did she say?”
Valerie gave a strange laugh.
“She was thrilled.”
Of course.
“She said the baby could repair everything.”
“By pretending Leo was the father?”
Valerie nodded.
“She said no one needed to know.”
“And what did Arthur say?”
“He agreed.”
“So everyone was willing to let Leo raise his father’s child without knowing.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
Then another question occurred to me.
“Why did Eleanor want me gone now?”
Valerie looked uncomfortable.
“Because Arthur planned to move back into the apartment.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
“While pretending you were still with Leo?”
“At first.”
The cruelty was breathtaking.
“And later?”
“Arthur planned to announce that you had left him.”
I laughed softly.
“Convenient.”
She stared at her hands.
“He said everyone would assume you chose your career over the family.”
I almost admired the script.
The cold, infertile wife finally leaves.
The devoted father supports his son’s pregnant girlfriend.
Then eventually, perhaps after a respectable delay, Arthur becomes the noble man who “steps in.”
“How much money did he give you?”
Valerie flinched.
“I gave investigators records.”
“How much?”
“About two hundred thousand.”
“For the affair?”
“Some.”
“What was the rest?”
She hesitated.
“Arthur made me open VLM Holdings.”
“I know.”
“He said he needed a separate company for consulting.”
“You signed documents.”
“Yes.”
“Did you understand them?”
“Not all of them.”
I believed that partly.
Not because Valerie was innocent.
Because Arthur liked people who trusted him without reading.
He had chosen me for the same reason.
“What did VLM do?”
“Mostly receive money.”
“And send it where?”
“Different accounts.”
“Whose?”
“I don’t know all of them.”
“Try.”
She looked at me.
“One belonged to Eleanor.”
I went still.
“What?”
“Arthur transferred money to his mother.”
“How much?”
“Maybe three hundred thousand.”
My thoughts raced.
“For what?”
“She said it was repayment.”
“Repayment for what?”
“I don’t know.”
Valerie opened her handbag.
“I brought this.”
She placed a flash drive on the table.
“What is it?”
“Everything I copied before investigators took my laptop.”
“Why give it to me?”
“Because there’s a folder with your name.”
I did not touch it.
“What’s inside?”
“I don’t know. It’s password-protected.”
“Then why do you think it matters?”
“Because Arthur told me never to open it.”
That was enough.
I called Marcus.
Twenty minutes later, he sent a cybersecurity consultant to collect the drive.
Valerie stood to leave.
At the door, she stopped.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“I know that doesn’t matter.”
“No.”
I answered calmly.
“It doesn’t.”
She nodded.
Then her hand moved to her stomach.
For the first time, I looked at the child rather than the scandal.
“Do you have somewhere safe to stay?”
“My sister.”
“Good.”
“You care?”
“I care that the baby didn’t choose any of you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
I closed the door.
Three hours later, Marcus called.
“The encrypted folder is open.”
“What was inside?”
He sounded stunned.
“Sarah, I think Arthur kept a second set of books.”
My pulse quickened.
“For Whitmore Medical?”
“No.”
“For what?”
“Eleanor.”
I sat down.
“What do you mean?”
“Property. Investments. Offshore transfers.”
I gripped the phone.
“How much?”
“We’re still calculating.”
“Marcus.”
He exhaled.
“Several million.”
I stared at the wall.
Eleanor had spent years pretending Arthur supported her.
Arthur had spent years pretending I supported him only temporarily.
And now we had discovered another layer.
Arthur had been moving money to Eleanor while telling me his company could barely survive.
May you like
The question was no longer whether my husband had betrayed me.
The question was how long the Whitmore family had been using me to finance a lifestyle they could secretly afford without me.
