Chapter 3 - The Wife He Never Knew
The following morning, Dominic sat in his private office overlooking the Chicago River.
The divorce papers lay on his desk.
He had not slept.
He had read the petition four times, searching for something that might explain how Eliza had gone from planning a surprise announcement to ending their marriage.
Griffin entered carrying a tablet.
"Paige's vehicle was seen leaving her property at 8:10."
"Where did it go?"
"An attorney's office downtown. Then a medical building."
Dominic looked up.
"What medical building?"
"Westlake Women's Center."
The room went still.
Griffin watched him carefully.
"There's something else."
"Say it."
"Celeste has been asking questions about Mrs. Rourke's inheritance."
Dominic's eyes sharpened.
"What questions?"
"Whether the Marlowe property company still exists. Whether Eliza has voting rights in it. Whether the shares can be transferred without your signature."
Dominic stood.
"Why would Celeste care about that?"
"I don't know."
"Find out."
Griffin hesitated.
"Boss, there's another issue. The emerald necklace."
"What about it?"
"It was reported missing from your grandmother's estate inventory eight months ago."
Dominic looked at him.
"Celeste said you gave it to her."
"I didn't."
For the first time that morning, Griffin looked genuinely uncomfortable.
"Then someone accessed the safe."
Dominic remembered the evening he had discovered the necklace missing.
He had assumed Eliza had moved it for safekeeping.
He had never asked her.
Now the possibility that Celeste had stolen it made his stomach tighten.
"Get the original inventory. And find out who had access."
Meanwhile, Eliza sat in a small conference room with attorney Rebecca Lawson.
Rebecca was in her late forties, sharp-eyed, and known for representing women in complicated high-net-worth divorces.
She studied the petition.
"You understand that filing for divorce doesn't automatically protect your financial interests?"
"Yes."
"And you understand that your husband may contest the separation, especially if he believes there are assets involved?"
Eliza nodded.
"That's why I want the Marlowe Trust reviewed independently."
Rebecca opened a folder.
"Your grandmother's estate is considerably more valuable than the initial appraisal suggested."
"I know."
"Do you?"
Eliza looked up.
Rebecca slid a document across the table.
"Your grandmother owned twenty-two percent of Rourke Development Holdings through a private investment vehicle. The shares were transferred to you under a separate trust agreement."
Eliza stared at the page.
"That's impossible. Dominic told me those shares belonged to his family."
"His company benefits from the investment. That doesn't mean he owns the shares."
Eliza read the document again.
Her grandmother had invested in Dominic's company years before Eliza met him.
The shares had grown dramatically in value.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Your grandmother appointed an independent trustee. The documents were intentionally kept separate from your husband's estate."
Eliza felt a chill.
"Did Dominic know?"
Rebecca closed the folder.
"That's what we need to establish."
For years, Eliza had believed she brought very little to the marriage.
Dominic had money, influence, properties, and an army of employees.
She had a modest inheritance and a quiet life.
But her grandmother had left her something more important than money.
She had left her independence.
At noon, Celeste arrived at Blackridge headquarters without an appointment.
She walked straight into Dominic's office.
"You're avoiding me."
"I'm working."
"You haven't answered my calls."
"Then perhaps you should stop calling."
Her smile disappeared.
"Is this because of Eliza?"
Dominic closed a file.
"Why were you asking about her inheritance?"
Celeste blinked.
"What?"
"Don't pretend you didn't."
She recovered quickly.
"I was curious. Everyone knows she has family money."
"That's not an answer."
Celeste walked toward his desk.
"Dominic, we're supposed to be building a future together. I thought we had agreed that your wife was no longer part of it."
"She was my wife yesterday."
"And today she's filing for divorce."
"Because of what I did."
Celeste stared at him.
That admission clearly wasn't what she had expected.
She lowered her voice.
"Do you still love her?"
Dominic didn't answer.
Celeste laughed bitterly.
"Unbelievable."
She reached into her handbag and removed a small velvet box.
"I brought you something."
Inside was a photograph of Dominic's grandmother, Margaret Rourke.
The emerald necklace hung around her neck.
"Where did you get this?"
"From the estate archive."
"Why?"
"Because I thought you should remember what family means."
Dominic closed the box.
"Take the necklace off."
Celeste stiffened.
"What?"
"The necklace. Take it off."
"You're embarrassing me."
"Then imagine how Eliza felt."
Celeste's eyes turned cold.
"You've changed."
"No. I'm finally looking."
After Celeste left, Griffin entered with the estate inventory.
"Boss, the necklace wasn't the only missing item."
Dominic looked up.
"What else?"
Griffin placed an old photograph on the desk.
It showed Margaret Rourke standing outside a country house with a young woman beside her.
Dominic recognized the woman immediately.
His mother.
But the date on the back made no sense.
It had been taken two years after his mother supposedly died.
May you like
And written beneath the photograph, in his grandmother's handwriting, were six words:
If Eliza ever asks, tell her everything.
