The Wife He Lost

PART 2 — THE SECRET MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND

The following morning, I went to the address written beneath my father’s letter.

It led me to a private office on the forty-second floor of a glass skyscraper in downtown Chicago.

A man in his late sixties was waiting near the window.

The moment he saw me, he stood.

“Claire Bennett?”

“Yes. Are you the man in the photograph?”

He nodded.

“My name is Richard Hayes. I was your father’s closest friend and legal partner for more than thirty years.”

I handed him the documents.

“Can you explain what all this means? My father spent his entire life working ordinary jobs. He never mentioned owning a company.”

Richard smiled sadly.

“Your father wanted you to grow up without the burden of his wealth. He built Bennett Holdings through private investments and several companies, but he deliberately kept his personal life simple.”

He opened a folder and placed it in front of me.

“Your father owned sixty-two percent of Bennett Holdings. After his passing, that controlling interest legally transferred to you.”

I stared at the figures.

It was more money than I could have imagined.

But one question bothered me.

“Why did he tell me to meet you before trusting anyone again?”

Richard’s expression changed.

He closed the office door.

“Because Ethan Blackwood has been trying to acquire part of your father’s business for nearly eighteen months.”

My blood turned cold.

“What?”

“Your husband approached several executives using intermediaries. He believed Bennett Holdings belonged to an anonymous investment trust. Your father rejected every offer.”

I remembered Ethan’s business trips, his strange questions about my father’s finances, and the times he had casually asked whether my father owned any property.

“Did Ethan know who my father really was?”

“Not until recently. But there’s something worse.”

Richard pushed another document toward me.

“Six months ago, one of Blackwood’s companies attempted to obtain confidential financial information from Bennett Holdings. Your father discovered it and began investigating.”

I felt sick.

My father had been fighting a battle I knew nothing about.

“Did he find anything?”

Richard nodded.

“He left instructions that these documents should only be given to you after his death.”

Inside the folder were financial records, emails, and copies of several suspicious transactions.

One name appeared repeatedly.

Vanessa Monroe.

I looked up.

“Why is she involved?”

Richard hesitated.

“Because Vanessa has been working with Ethan’s business associates. We believe she’s been helping him gain access to information about Bennett Holdings.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

My husband hadn’t simply neglected me.

He might have been using the woman he claimed was just an old friend to get closer to my family’s fortune.

Richard placed a final document on the desk.

“Your father also wanted you to know that you don’t have to fight alone. The board is ready to recognize you as the new chairwoman.”

I looked down at the signature.

My father’s name.

For the first time since his funeral, tears filled my eyes.

“Dad,” I whispered, “what were you protecting me from?”

Richard quietly handed me a tissue.

“Your father wanted one thing above everything else, Claire. He wanted you to become a woman nobody could control.”

I wiped my tears.

“Then I suppose it’s time I learned how.”

Three days later, I moved into a modest apartment overlooking Lake Michigan.

I hired a security team, changed my phone number, and instructed my attorney to proceed with the divorce.

Ethan still hadn’t contacted me.

Apparently, he believed I would eventually return.

That afternoon, I received an unexpected visitor.

Vanessa Monroe.

She stood outside my apartment wearing a cream-colored designer coat, carrying a handbag that probably cost more than my monthly rent.

“Claire. We need to talk.”

I almost closed the door.

“What do you want?”

She smiled sweetly.

“Ethan is worried about you.”

I laughed.

“That’s interesting. He didn’t seem worried when my father was dying.”

Her smile faded.

“Look, I know you’re upset, but Ethan and I have history. You should accept that.”

“I already have.”

She looked surprised.

“Then why are you making things difficult?”

I leaned against the doorway.

“Because I’m divorcing him. Is that difficult for you?”

Vanessa lowered her voice.

“Be careful, Claire. Ethan doesn’t like losing things that belong to him.”

I stared at her.

“I’m not one of his possessions.”

For the first time, her expression revealed something unpleasant.

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Then let me make it.”

I closed the door.

But before I could walk away, my phone vibrated.

An unknown number had sent me a photograph.

It showed Ethan standing outside a restaurant with Richard Hayes.

The message beneath it contained only seven words.

Ask your lawyer what Richard did to your father.

My hands went cold.

Someone knew I had inherited Bennett Holdings.

And someone was determined to stop me from discovering the truth.