Chapter 6 - The Uninvited GuestWhile Ethan was reshaping his entire life at the law firm, Laura was sitting in her marketing studio, staring blankly at a vector graphic on her screen that she hadn't touched in hours. Her phone buzzed on the desk.
It was an unknown number.
She picked it up hesitantly. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Caldwell?” a sharp, unfamiliar female voice asked. “My name is Victoria Vance. I believe we need to have a conversation regarding your husband’s firm.”
Laura frowned. “I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. My husband’s business affairs are separate from—"
“Oh, they won't be separate for long,” Victoria interrupted with a cold chuckle. “Especially not now that Ethan has abdicated his throne and handed control of Caldwell Protective Services over to Marcus Reed. Word travels fast in downtown Chicago when a titan falls. And when a titan falls, vultures gather.”
Laura’s breath caught. “What are you talking about? Ethan didn't step down.”
“Check the corporate filings, my dear,” Victoria purred. “The transfer was executed an hour ago. Your husband is walking away from millions. And if you think you’re walking away with half of nothing in a divorce settlement, you’re gravely mistaken. Unless, of course, you know something about the offshore accounts Ethan’s former partners left behind.”
“Who are you?” Laura demanded, standing up from her desk.
“Just a concerned shareholder,” Victoria said smoothly before disconnecting the call with a sharp click.
Laura’s hands trembled as she dropped the phone onto the desk.
Offshore accounts? Former partners?
She thought she knew everything about Ethan’s business. But as she scrambled to her laptop to check the corporate news feeds, a cold dread washed over her. Headlines were already flashing across financial blogs:
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CALDWELL PROTECTIVE SERVICES SHOCK RESIGNATION: IS ETHAN CALDWELL HIDING SOMETHING?
She realized with sickening clarity that the divorce papers sitting on their dining room table weren't just a marital dispute anymore. They were a smoke screen for something much larger, darker, and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.
