Now the entire room had gone quiet.
I watched my husband fall into the habit he always relied on when he thought he could talk his way out—straightening his posture, lowering his voice, choosing offense over fear.
“What exactly is this about?” he asked.
The woman opened the folder. “Over the last eight months, several client entertainment charges were submitted under false business purposes. There are also personal travel expenses routed through a vendor account under your authorization.”
Vanessa turned toward him so quickly her chair legs screeched against the floor.
“Andrew,” she whispered.
He said nothing.
The woman continued. “Tonight’s dinner was charged to Hawthorne Consulting at 5:02 p.m. under a client retention code. We’ve also linked multiple hotel charges and gifts to the same account.”
Daniel let out a bitter sound beside me. “There it is.”
I glanced at him. “You knew about this?”
“Not the company money,” he said. “I only knew about her lies.”
At the table, Andrew finally saw me.
I will never forget that moment.
His eyes met mine across the room, and I watched realization hit him in layers. First confusion. Then shock. Then the rapid calculation of a guilty man trying to decide which disaster to address first—his wife or his job.
