Chapter 8: The Paper Trail
While Claire was in Denver handling the supplier issue, Marcus’s team was already working in Boston.
By Thursday, they had uncovered the first major piece of evidence.
Ryan had been using his corporate credit card for personal expenses related to his affair with Chloe. Hotel rooms in cities he had claimed were for business meetings. Expensive dinners. Even a weekend trip to Napa Valley that he had told Claire was a “client appreciation event.”
The amounts weren’t small.
Over the past eight months, Ryan had charged more than $47,000 in questionable expenses to his company card. Many of the charges coincided with weekends when he had told Claire he was working.
Marcus called Claire that evening with the update.
“We have enough to prove he misused company funds,” Marcus said. “But there’s more. His company has a strict policy against romantic relationships between supervisors and subordinates. If we can prove he was involved with Chloe while she reported to him, we can also go after him for violating company policy.”
Claire was quiet for a moment.
“Will that affect his job?” she asked.
“Almost certainly,” Marcus replied. “Especially once we present the evidence to his employer. Large companies don’t like scandals involving senior employees misusing funds and having inappropriate relationships with subordinates.”
Claire felt a strange mix of emotions.
Part of her felt satisfaction. Ryan had risked everything for his affair — his marriage, his reputation, and now potentially his career.
Another part of her felt sad.
She had loved him once. She had believed in their future. And now she was actively helping to destroy the life he had built.
But then she remembered the way he had smiled at the flight attendant and called Chloe his wife.
The sadness faded.
Ryan had made his choice.
Now he would have to live with the consequences.
“Keep going,” Claire told Marcus. “I want everything documented. Every receipt. Every email. Every lie.”
“Understood,” Marcus said. “We’ll be ready to file additional claims by next week.”
After the call, Claire sat alone in her hotel room and stared at the city lights.
May you like
She was no longer just divorcing Ryan.
She was going to make sure he understood exactly what he had lost — and exactly who he had underestimated.
