The Wife He Underestimated

Part 2: The Woman Behind the Fortune

By Monday morning, my message had become the biggest scandal at Prescott Global.

Someone had taken a screenshot of the company-wide Slack announcement and sent it to a gossip account. By sunrise, the post had spread across Boston.

PRESCOTT HEIRESS EXPOSES HUSBAND’S AFFAIR WITH HIS OWN EMPLOYEE.

Aaron called me thirty-two times.

I answered none of them.

At nine o’clock, my mother placed a cup of tea beside me at her house.

“Are you ready for the world to start asking questions?” she asked.

“I’ve spent three years answering questions about why my husband never came home.”

I looked at the divorce documents Nathan had prepared.

“I’m done explaining myself.”

At Prescott Global, Aaron was having a very different morning.

I heard about it from Nathan, who had received a call from Aaron’s attorney.

Apparently, Aaron had stormed into the executive conference room carrying my divorce proposal.

“Find my wife,” he had ordered. “And tell her to stop this ridiculous performance.”

His mother, Eleanor Prescott, sat beside him, her diamond bracelet flashing beneath the conference-room lights.

“Claire is emotional,” she said dismissively. “She’ll calm down when she realizes what she’ll lose.”

Jasmine Cole sat at the far end of the table, wearing a cream-colored suit and a smile she couldn’t quite maintain.

Then one of the board members cleared his throat.

“Aaron, there’s another problem. The announcement has reached our investors. They’re asking whether your personal conduct could affect the company’s reputation.”

Aaron slammed his hand against the table.

“My marriage has nothing to do with this company!”

“Perhaps not,” the chairman replied. “But your wife has been mentioned in several confidential shareholder records.”

The room fell silent.

Because none of them knew the truth.

My grandfather’s investment company, Blackwood Capital Partners, held a significant stake in Prescott Global.

And I wasn’t merely a beneficiary.

I was its managing trustee.

For years, I had kept my involvement private, allowing professional managers to handle the investment while I focused on my marriage and my own charitable projects.

Aaron had never bothered to ask what I did with my time.

He assumed I spent my days shopping, attending charity luncheons, and waiting for him to return home.

He had never realized that the woman he dismissed as insignificant had access to information that could change his company’s future.

That afternoon, Nathan called me.

“Claire, the board has requested an extraordinary meeting. Blackwood Capital has been asked to clarify its position regarding Prescott Global.”

I looked through the window at the garden my mother had planted.

“What did you tell them?”

“Nothing beyond the fact that the trust’s representatives will attend.”

“Good.”

“Are you planning to reveal yourself?”

“Not yet.”

There was a pause.

“Claire, Aaron is furious. His mother is already telling people you’re trying to extort him.”

I smiled without humor.

“Then let them keep talking.”

That evening, Aaron finally appeared at my parents’ front door.

He wore the navy suit I had chosen for him two Christmases ago. His tie was crooked, and dark circles shadowed his eyes.

When I opened the door, he stared at me as though he couldn’t recognize the woman standing before him.

“Claire, we need to talk.”

“We have lawyers for that.”

“Stop acting like a stranger! We’ve been married for three years.”

“And for how many of those nights did you come home?”

His jaw tightened.

“Jasmine is a mistake. It doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

I almost laughed.

“You didn’t forget to come home once, Aaron. You made a choice repeatedly. Then you made me feel foolish for noticing.”

He stepped closer.

“You’re going to destroy everything we’ve built over a stupid affair?”

“No, Aaron. You did that yourself.”

I handed him a copy of the divorce papers.

He glanced at the signature line, then looked back at me.

“You’ll regret this.”

I held his gaze.

“That’s what I used to tell myself every time I forgave you.”

Then I closed the door.

For the first time in three years, I slept peacefully.

But the following morning, Aaron received an email that made him forget about our divorce for several precious seconds.

Blackwood Capital Partners has requested your attendance at an emergency shareholder meeting.

And attached to the email was a document listing the name of the trust’s managing trustee.

Claire Bennett Prescott.

His wife.

The woman he had spent three years underestimating.