Chapter 5 - The Secret My Husband Hid for Seven Years
Project Harbor did not officially exist.
That was the first thing we discovered.
No board resolution.
No formal project registration.
No executive summary.
Nothing.
But hidden inside archived finance servers were seventeen transactions from seven years earlier.
Together, they totaled forty-two million dollars.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“Where did it come from?”
I already knew the answer would hurt.
Shiaoza sat across the conference table.
He looked exhausted.
“An offshore lender.”
“Name.”
“Northstar Maritime Holdings.”
Daniel searched.
His expression changed.
“The company dissolved six years ago.”
“Who owned it?”
“We’re tracing that.”
I looked at my husband.
“You already know.”
He didn’t answer.
“Who owned it?”
Finally:
“Your father.”
The room disappeared for a second.
“My father was dead.”
“The company was created before he died.”
“Why?”
“To protect assets.”
“From whom?”
Shiaoza looked at me.
“Your uncle.”
And suddenly, an old family wound opened.
My father’s younger brother, Victor Lin, had spent years fighting him for control of the company.
After my father’s death, Victor claimed the company belonged to him.
He lost.
Or so I had believed.
Shiaoza continued.
“Your father knew Victor was preparing a hostile takeover. He moved capital offshore.”
“Did the board know?”
“No.”
“Did I?”
“No.”
“Then how did you?”
His silence answered.
“My father told you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he trusted me to protect you.”
I laughed without humor.
“Apparently he chose badly.”
Pain crossed his face.
I didn’t care.
Not yet.
“What did you do with the money?”
“I brought it back into the company.”
“All of it?”
He hesitated.
Daniel looked up.
My stomach sank.
“All of it?”
“Not exactly.”
“How much is missing?”
“Initially? Six million.”
Initially.
That word terrified me.
“And now?”
He whispered:
“About twenty-three.”
I stared at him.
Twenty-three million dollars.
Missing.
“You stole from my father?”
“No.”
“You stole from me?”
“No!”
His voice cracked.
“I moved the money because Victor found out about Northstar. If he could prove the assets belonged to your father, he could reopen the estate litigation.”
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Different entities.”
“Including White Orchid?”
His silence was enough.
I stood.
“You gave Jang control over my father’s money?”
“No. She discovered it.”
“How?”
“She worked in legal before becoming my secretary.”
“And then?”
“She threatened you?”
“At first.”
At first.
The phrase sat between us.
“Then you started sleeping with her.”
His eyes lowered.
I felt sick.
“How long?”
“Two years.”
Not one mistake.
Not one drunken night.
Two years.
I turned toward the window.
The city stretched beneath me.
Thousands of people moving through ordinary lives.
And mine had just split open.
“Did you love her?”
He took too long to answer.
“I thought I did.”
I closed my eyes.
That hurt.
When I turned back, my voice was calm.
“Daniel, please leave.”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
When the door closed, I removed my wedding ring.
Shiaoza stood immediately.
“No.”
I placed it on the table.
“You don’t get to say no.”
“Please.”
“For ten years, I trusted you.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
My voice finally broke.
“You came home and kissed me after being with her.”
He covered his face.
“You let me choose a birthday gift for your mother, then gave it to your mistress.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You used my father’s hidden assets.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed me.”
His shoulders collapsed.
“Yes.”
“And when she humiliated me in front of your employees, you called me ‘connected to the board’ because you were afraid of upsetting her.”
He couldn’t answer.
I pushed the ring toward him.
“I’m done.”
He stared at it.
“Are you divorcing me?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing yet.”
That was the truth.
“But I know what I’m not doing.”
“What?”
“Protecting you from consequences.”
His eyes filled.
I had seen my husband angry.
Confident.
Proud.
I had almost never seen him cry.
Today, I did.
And it changed nothing.
Then Daniel knocked urgently.
I opened the door.
“We traced Northstar.”
“And?”
“President Shiao told the truth about your father.”
I waited.
“But there’s something else.”
He handed me a document.
Northstar had a second authorized beneficiary.
Not Shiaoza.
Not Jang.
Victor Lin.
My uncle.
I stared at the name.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Then he showed me another record.
Three months ago, Victor had received a payment.
From White Orchid Advisory.
Five million dollars.
I looked at Shiaoza.
His face changed.
“I didn’t authorize that.”
For the first time all day, I believed him.
Which meant Jang wasn’t simply stealing.
She was working with my father’s oldest enemy.
May you like
And suddenly my broken marriage became the smaller crisis.
Someone was trying to steal my company.
Related Stories
