“Get out,” Leo said, blocking his path, his voice like ice.
“This is my ex’s place. Who are you to tell me to get out?” Alex slurred, trying to steady himself.
He pointed a shaking finger at me.
“Chloe, come out here. We’re not finished.”
“We finished a long time ago,” I said, stepping out from behind Leo. “Legally, I’m Leo’s wife. If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the police.”
Alex let out a wild laugh.
“Go ahead. Let’s see what the cops have to say about a woman who gets pregnant with my child and then marries another man. Let’s see who they side with.”
He waved the bottle, splashing whiskey on the floor.
“Alex, you’re drunk,” I said, trying to stay calm.
“I’m not drunk. I’m perfectly clear,” he yelled. “Clear enough to remember colluding with Rick Donovan to leak company secrets and frame me?” I asked, staring him down.
Alex froze, the drunken haze seeming to evaporate from his eyes.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you paying Rick to steal my proposal, sell it to a competitor, and then pin the blame on me,” I said, enunciating every word. “The company is investigating. Once they have proof, you and Rick are both going to jail.”
The color drained from Alex’s face. He dropped the bottle, which shattered on the floor.
“How? How do you know?” he stammered, taking a step back.
“You can’t hide things forever,” Leo said, taking a step forward. For every step Leo took, Alex took one back.
“Alex, if you leave now, you might have a chance. But if you wait for the police to come knocking, it’ll be too late.”
Alex looked from me to Leo, and his bravado crumbled. He collapsed onto the floor.
“I didn’t want to do this,” he sobbed, holding his head. “My company… it’s going under. I’m drowning in debt.”
He looked up at me, tears streaming down his face.
“Chloe, I was desperate. Rick said if we could just get the Blue Sky contract, it would save the company.”
“So you sold me out,” I said, feeling nothing but cold disgust.
“It was Rick’s idea,” he pleaded. “He said if he could get you fired, he’d get the promotion, and then he could steer the contract to me.”
“And you agreed.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” he wailed, grabbing at my pant leg. “Chloe, for the sake of our three years together, please let this go. I was wrong. I was so wrong.”
I looked at his pathetic form. Any love I once had was gone, replaced by pure revulsion.
“Get up, Alex,” I said. “Face the consequences like a man.”
He just stared at me blankly. Leo had already picked up his phone.
“Are you walking out of here on your own, or should I call 911?”
Alex slowly got to his feet, his expression shifting from pleading to pure hatred.
“You’re a cold one, Chloe,” he spat. “But don’t think you’ve won. This isn’t over.”
He stumbled to the door.
“You’re going to regret this.”
The door slammed shut. The apartment was suddenly silent. I looked at the broken glass and spilled whiskey on the floor and felt a wave of dizziness. Leo steadied me.
“Sit down.”
He led me to the couch and went to get me some water.
“What did he mean, this isn’t over?” I asked.
“He’s just bluffing,” Leo said, handing me the glass. “But we should still be careful.”
He started cleaning up the mess. I watched his back, a surreal feeling washing over me. This man, a stranger just a few weeks ago, was now my protector.
“Leo.”
He turned.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said, continuing to clean. “We’re on the same team now.”
The next day, Maya came over first thing in the morning with more information.
“My friend hacked into Rick’s personal email last night. Look at this.”
She handed me her tablet. On the screen was an email from Alex to Rick, sent the day before my suspension. The message was short.
“Got the files. Payment sent. Proceed as planned. Make sure she can’t recover.”
Attached was an encrypted file.
“Can you decrypt it?” I asked.
“My friend is trying, but it’ll take time,” Maya said. “But more importantly, I looked into Alex’s company finances.”
She pulled up another file.
“He’s been in trouble for six months. He owes the bank over $300,000, not to mention what he owes suppliers.”
“So he was desperate,” Leo concluded.
“But the Blue Sky contract isn’t big enough to cover a hole that deep.”
“So he had another plan,” I reasoned. “What could Rick give him?”
“Resources. A position,” Maya guessed.
“Or,” Leo said suddenly, “he never planned to pay anyone back.”
We both looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“I had someone trace Alex’s recent financial activity,” Leo said, pulling out his phone. “Last week, he wired $50,000 to an offshore shell corporation.”
“Money laundering?” Maya gasped.
“Or getting ready to flee the country,” Leo said, looking at us.
“If that’s the case, framing Chloe wasn’t just about the contract.”
My blood ran cold.
“He wanted to make me the scapegoat to buy himself time.”
“It’s very likely,” Leo nodded.
“That son of a…” Maya slammed her hand on the table.
“We have to get concrete proof before he runs,” I said. “Rick is the weak link.”
“But he’s careful,” Maya mused.
“I have an idea,” Leo said. He pulled out another phone. “This is a burner phone Alex and Rick were using to communicate. A friend of mine got me the number.”
I stared at him.
“How…”
“You pick up a few contacts in business,” he said with a shrug. “Now we just need to set a trap.”
Three days later, Leo’s company hosted a small networking event. Among the guests were the VP from Blue Sky Group and a few people from Starbrite Solutions. Rick, representing my company, was also invited, an arrangement Leo had made.
“Rick will come because he wants to schmooze the Blue Sky VP,” Leo explained before the event. “And Alex will come because I invited him under the pretense of a potential partnership. When they meet, they might talk.”
I understood. We needed to record them. He handed me a tiny recording device disguised as a lapel pin.
“You keep Rick busy. I’ll have someone get close to Alex.”
At seven, the event began. I stood by the door with Leo, wearing a dress he’d bought for me. It was the first time we’d appeared in public as a couple. Rick was one of the first to arrive. He saw me and did a double take.
“Chloe, what are you doing here?” he asked, feigning surprise.
“I’m with my husband,” I said, linking my arm through Leo’s.
