Chapter 3: The First Crack
Richard drove home in complete silence.
He did not turn on the radio. He did not call anyone. He simply gripped the steering wheel and stared at the road, replaying the footage over and over in his mind.
When he walked into the house, Eleanor was still in the kitchen. The hydrangeas were now arranged perfectly in a crystal vase.
She looked up and smiled.
“That was fast. Did they have your medication?”
Richard set his keys down carefully.
“They ordered it. It’ll be ready tomorrow.”
Eleanor studied his face for a moment.
“You look strange. Are you feeling all right?”
He forced himself to meet her eyes.
“I’m fine. Just a long morning.”
She walked over and placed a hand on his arm.
“Why don’t you rest for a while? I’ll make you some tea.”
Richard gently moved his arm away.
“I have some calls to make. I’ll be in my study.”
He walked past her without another word.
Inside his study, he locked the door and sat down at his desk. His hands were still shaking slightly.
He opened his laptop and began searching through the family’s financial records.
He needed to know how far this had already gone.
As he scrolled through recent transfers and documents, one thought kept repeating in his mind:
Eleanor had not only betrayed him.
She had used their son’s wedding as a stage for it.
And Harper — the pregnant young woman he had welcomed into the family — had been part of the plan from the beginning.
Richard closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
May you like
He had spent decades reading people in boardrooms.
But he had completely failed to read the two women living under his own roof.
