THE WIFE WHO BOUGHT HIS COMPANY

Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Numbers

By noon, the news had spread throughout the financial district.

WIFE OF CARTER GLOBAL CEO ACQUIRES CONTROLLING STAKE IN HIS OWN COMPANY.

The headline appeared on business websites, television screens, and social media feeds.

Photographs of Natalie entering the company’s headquarters circulated everywhere. Some called her a brilliant investor. Others described her as a scorned wife seeking revenge.

Natalie ignored them all.

She sat in a temporary office on the twenty-eighth floor, reviewing the first documents delivered by the independent audit team.

Her assistant, Daniel Brooks, entered carrying two cups of coffee.

“You’re trending,” he said, placing one cup beside her.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Daniel laughed.

“Most people would be celebrating.”

“Most people aren’t trying to discover why a profitable company has been losing money for eight consecutive months.”

Her smile disappeared as she turned another page.

Something was wrong.

Carter Global’s public financial statements showed healthy profits, steady revenue, and manageable debt. Yet several internal reports suggested that millions of dollars had disappeared through a series of consulting agreements and overseas transfers.

The payments were small enough to avoid attracting attention individually.

Together, they amounted to nearly eighteen million dollars.

Natalie circled three transactions.

“Daniel, find out who authorized these payments.”

He examined the documents.

“All three were approved by Alexander’s office. But the companies receiving the money have almost identical registration addresses.”

“Who owns them?”

“That’s what I’m trying to determine.”

Natalie leaned back.

She knew Alexander was arrogant. She knew he enjoyed expensive gifts, private clubs, and the admiration of powerful people.

But she had never believed he would deliberately steal from his own company.

Then again, she had spent five years believing she knew her husband.

She was beginning to understand how little she had truly known.

At two o’clock, Richard Bennett arrived with a sealed envelope.

“Mrs. Carter, I think you should see this.”

Inside was a printed copy of an email exchange recovered from the company’s archived records.

The messages were between Alexander and an executive named Victor Hale, the director of international operations.

The latest message was dated three days earlier.

The transfer must be completed before the new shareholder review begins. Once the money reaches the final account, there will be no direct connection to Carter Global.

A second message followed.

What about Natalie?

Alexander’s reply was brief.

She won’t understand the accounts. She never looks at anything beyond the household budget.

Natalie read the sentence twice.

Then she placed the papers on the desk.

“He still thinks I’m incapable of understanding a balance sheet.”

Bennett looked uncomfortable.

“I’m afraid the situation may be more serious than simple financial misconduct. If these documents are authentic, the company could face regulatory investigations and substantial losses.”

“Have the original records been preserved?”

“Yes. The audit team has secured copies, and our external counsel is reviewing the evidence.”

“Good. Nobody confronts Hale until we understand the entire transaction.”

Bennett nodded.

As he reached the door, Natalie called him back.

“One more thing. Has Alexander contacted you about the divorce?”

“He called this morning. He wants the settlement finalized immediately.”

Natalie almost laughed.

Even now, Alexander believed the divorce was the most important problem in his life.

“Tell his lawyers that I will review the proposal when I’m ready.”

After Bennett left, Natalie returned to the financial statements.

One company appeared repeatedly in the records: Meridian Strategic Partners.

It had received more than six million dollars in consulting fees, despite having no employees listed in its public filings.

She searched the company’s registration documents.

The official director was a man named Thomas Reed.

But the mailing address belonged to a private office building owned by a property company connected to Victoria Lane’s family.

Natalie’s fingers went still.

Victoria.

She had suspected the affair for months, but she had never imagined that Alexander’s assistant might be involved in questionable financial transactions.

Perhaps Victoria was simply a convenient connection.

Perhaps she was the person pulling the strings.

Natalie needed proof before making any accusation.

She picked up her phone and called Daniel.

“Find every document related to Meridian Strategic Partners. Contracts, invoices, payment approvals, everything. And arrange a confidential meeting with the audit team’s lead investigator.”

“Understood.”

When she ended the call, another notification appeared on her computer.

An email from an unfamiliar address.

There was no greeting, no signature, and no explanation.

Only one sentence:

If you want to know why Alexander really married you, look inside the blue safe in his private office.

Natalie read it several times.

Her marriage had lasted five years. During that time, she had believed Alexander chose her because he loved her, even if his affection had slowly turned into indifference.

But now she remembered something strange.

On their wedding day, Alexander had insisted that she sign a document among the many papers his lawyers had prepared. He told her it was a routine declaration concerning family assets.

She had trusted him and signed without asking questions.

What if the document had not been routine?

What if their marriage had begun with a lie?

Natalie saved the email and checked the sender’s information. There was nothing useful to identify the person behind it.

Outside her office, the afternoon sun fell across the city.

She could call Alexander and demand an explanation. She could send lawyers to search every document in his possession.

But that would warn him.

And if the message was genuine, whatever lay inside the blue safe might be the one thing he was desperate to keep hidden.

Natalie closed the financial reports and stood.

“Daniel,” she said when her assistant appeared at the door, “I need access to Alexander’s private office.”

Daniel hesitated.

“Are you sure? He still has security privileges in the building.”

“Then we’ll follow the proper procedures and make sure everything is documented.”

She slipped the mysterious email into her folder.

For the first time since the divorce began, the company was no longer her only concern.

Someone had deliberately sent her a warning.

Someone knew what Alexander had hidden.

And someone believed that the truth about her marriage was far more valuable than the company she had just acquired.

Natalie walked toward the elevator, her expression calm but her thoughts racing.

She had entered Carter Global to take back control of her future.

Now she was beginning to suspect that her entire past had been built on a secret.

And she intended to uncover every part of it.