Chapter 4 - SHADOWS IN THE STUDY
Midnight. The storm outside continued to rage, mimicking the turmoil inside Mae’s chest. Theo had retreated to the master bedroom, locking the door—a silent declaration of war.
Mae sat on the edge of the guest bed, staring at the wall. She couldn't sleep. She needed an advantage. Theo was a master manipulator, a corporate shark who covered his tracks perfectly. If she was going to get Bea out safely and secure the funds for the surgery, she needed leverage.
She slipped out of the room, her bare feet silent on the hardwood floor. She bypassed Bea's room—hearing the soft breathing of Buster the dog inside—and crept toward Theo’s home office. The door was locked, but Mae knew where he kept the spare key: taped under the bottom of a nearby heavy planter.
She retrieved it, unlocked the door, and slipped inside, leaving the lights off. She used a small penlight to navigate.
Theo's desk was impeccably clean. Mae booted up his desktop. Password protected. She tried his birthdate, their anniversary, Bea's birthday. Nothing.
Think. What did a narcissist value most?
She typed in the name of his first wildly successful corporate merger. Apex2015.
The screen unlocked.
Mae's hands flew across the keyboard. She didn't just find personal banking; she found a labyrinth of offshore accounts. Files labeled with dummy corporation names. As she dug deeper, the horrifying truth emerged. Theo wasn't just hoarding wealth; he was siphoning money from his clients, masking it through his family's medical insurance policies.
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If Bea had a serious, documented illness, it would trigger massive insurance audits that would expose his fraud. He hadn't just ignored Bea's pain out of annoyance; he had ignored it to protect his criminal empire. He was willing to let their daughter suffer to keep his secrets buried.
Mae downloaded everything onto a flash drive. The game had just changed. It was no longer a divorce; it was a war for survival.
