Chapter 4 - Aspen Was Never About Love
Julian had one brother.
Nathan.
And Nathan had not spoken to us in nearly three years.
Officially, it was because of a business disagreement.
Unofficially, Julian called him unstable, jealous, and reckless.
I had believed that too.
I was beginning to wonder how many of my opinions Julian had quietly manufactured for me.
Daniel traced the men to a private residence outside Aspen.
The property belonged to Northstar.
The same company funded with money that had originated from my inheritance.
But Isabel complicated everything.
She was not simply Julian’s mistress.
She worked for Victor.
Her title was Director of Strategic Acquisitions.
When Rebecca discovered that, she called me immediately.
“This could be corporate.”
“You think she seduced him for business?”
“I think we don’t know enough.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I saw the messages.”
“I’m not saying they weren’t having an affair.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“That an affair and a financial conspiracy can happen at the same time.”
Two days after Christmas, Julian sent me a photograph of “Tokyo.”
Cherry blossoms filled the background.
I stared at it for five seconds before laughing.
Cherry blossoms.
In December.
He had become careless because he believed I was stupid.
That hurt almost as much as the affair.
Almost.
That afternoon, Harrison and I were building blocks when an unknown number called.
“Elena?”
A woman.
“Who is this?”
“Isabel Laurent.”
Every muscle in my body locked.
I stood.
“How did you get this number?”
“Julian’s emergency contact records.”
“You have ten seconds.”
“Please don’t hang up.”
“Nine.”
“Elena, Julian has lied to both of us.”
I nearly laughed.
“Congratulations on figuring that out.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No. You don’t.”
Something in her voice stopped me.
She sounded frightened.
Not guilty.
Frightened.
“What do you want?”
“To meet.”
“No.”
“Then listen.”
I walked toward the window.
“Talk.”
“Julian told me you were separated.”
Predictable.
“He told me you were staying together publicly because of Harrison.”
Also predictable.
“He said you knew about me.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he had.
Men like Julian did not build one lie.
They built separate realities and assigned everyone a room.
“Why are you calling now?”
“Because last night I heard Victor and Nathan talking.”
“About what?”
“You.”
My eyes opened.
“What about me?”
“They know you contacted Rebecca Shaw.”
Ice moved through my veins.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Julian?”
“Out.”
“With Victor?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“In the house.”
“Why should I believe anything you say?”
“You shouldn’t.”
Her answer surprised me.
“Then why call?”
“Because I found something in Julian’s briefcase.”
“What?”
“A copy of a life-insurance policy.”
I stopped breathing.
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Silence.
My hand tightened around the phone.
I forced myself not to jump to conclusions.
Life insurance between spouses was normal.
“What’s unusual about it?”
“It was amended three months ago.”
“To what?”
“The beneficiary isn’t Julian.”
My heart hammered.
“Who is it?”
“Northstar Holdings.”
I sat down.
That made no sense.
“Send it to Rebecca.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Victor took my phone. I’m calling from the housekeeper’s.”
Then footsteps sounded through her end.
“Elena…”
“What?”
“If anything happens to me, look at December seventeenth.”
“What happened December seventeenth?”
She whispered three words.
“The parking garage.”
The call ended.
I immediately called Rebecca.
Within two hours, Daniel had located security records from the Manhattan building where Isabel worked.
December seventeenth.
The same day Julian told me his Tokyo trip had become unavoidable.
A parking garage camera showed four people meeting beside Victor’s car.
Victor.
Nathan.
Julian.
And a fourth person.
Rebecca sent me the still image.
I enlarged it.
My stomach dropped.
I knew the fourth man.
His name was Andrew Cole.
He had been my mother’s financial adviser.
The same man who had testified six years earlier that every dollar of my inheritance had been transferred exactly according to her wishes.
He had attended her funeral.
He had hugged me beside her grave.
And now he was meeting secretly with my husband.
My phone buzzed.
Julian.
Miss you. Can’t wait to come home.
I stared at the words.
Then something inside me changed.
Until that moment, I had been running away from my marriage.
Now I wanted the truth.
I typed back.
We miss you too.
Three dots appeared.
Then:
New Year’s Eve. I’ll be home by dinner.
I smiled without warmth.
He still believed he was coming home to the same wife.
He still believed I knew nothing.
He still believed his greatest problem was hiding another woman.
But for the first time, I understood something Julian did not.
Isabel was not the secret.
Aspen was not the secret.
Even the affair was not the secret.
May you like
The real secret had begun before my mother died.
And whatever Julian had done, my mother had seen it coming.
