Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN VICTOR THOUGHT HE OWNED
Victor did not spend the three months after Elena’s disappearance grieving.
He spent them consolidating.
Hale Holdings had thirty-two voting partners.
Elena’s missing sixteen-percent block created uncertainty.
Victor wanted a temporary proxy.
His argument to the board was polished.
The company needed stability.
Lenders disliked unresolved ownership.
Employees could not pay the price for a private tragedy.
Most directors agreed.
Some even admired him for working through grief.
Serena admired him too.
At first.
He told her they had survived the worst part.
He told her Elena’s death was horrible but inevitable once she refused to listen.
That wording bothered Serena.
“What does that mean?”
Victor kissed her forehead.
“Nothing.”
He had promised Serena a villa in Florida.
A seat in the Hale Foundation.
A future in which they stopped hiding.
She believed him because for five months he had told her Elena was emotionally gone from the marriage.
The cliff, according to Victor, was a terrible accident during one last attempt to save Elena from herself.
Serena wanted that to be true.
Then she found the passport.
Not his current passport.
A second one.
Different surname.
Cash.
Foreign banking information.
Inside Victor’s locked desk.
And a folder:
POST-EVENT EXIT.
Serena opened it.
There were contingency plans for leaving the country if law enforcement reopened Elena’s disappearance.
She read three pages.
Then saw something worse.
Asset destination:
Victor-controlled trust.
Beneficiaries:
Victor.
No Serena.
No shared future.
No Florida villa.
Nothing.
Serena heard footsteps outside the study.
She closed the drawer.
Victor entered.
“What are you doing?”
She smiled.
“Looking for a charger.”
His eyes went to the desk.
Then back to her.
“Did you find one?”
“No.”
He walked over.
Opened the same drawer.
Serena’s stomach tightened.
Victor checked the passport.
Then closed it.
“You shouldn’t go through my things.”
She forced a laugh.
“You went through your dead wife’s phone.”
His face became still.
Serena regretted it instantly.
Then Victor smiled.
“Different situation.”
He kissed her.
Serena smiled back.
May you like
But that night she copied the file.
And for the first time, she wondered whether Elena had been the only woman Victor lied to.
