Chapter 5

In the afternoon, Charlotte arrived. The moment she stepped in, she gave me a tight hug.

"I got everything." She pressed me down onto the sofa and handed me a warm cup of water. "Drink this, calm down, and listen to me."

I held the cup and nodded.

"Aurora, twenty-eight, professional painter. She owns her own gallery and studio in the city’s trendiest art district."

Charlotte spoke fast and clear.

"She has a luxury condo downtown, 1,700 square feet, fully paid off. It was bought four years ago."

"And she has zero history of heart disease. She's perfectly healthy."

"Four years ago..." I whispered.

That was the second year of our marriage. That was when I handed Alex our wedding fund cash to help him expand his company.

"Exactly," Charlotte looked at me, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"I also checked her gallery. She is the legal representative, but the biggest investor is... Alex's company."

"How much did he invest?"

"Over three million dollars in total."

"On the books, it was masked as 'art procurement' and 'brand image design' expenses."

I laughed.

What a brilliant "art procurement."

What a creative "brand image design."

He used my money to fund his mistress's dreams, throwing millions to pave a glamorous path for her.

Meanwhile, I, his legal wife, had to hesitate before buying a single piece of new clothing.

"There's more." Charlotte paused, pulling a document from her bag.

"This is the equity structure of Alex's company. Take a look."

I took it. My hands were shaking violently.

It was clearly written. Alex owned 60%, his partner Jack owned 30%, and the remaining 10%... was under Aurora's name.

"Jack is his co-founder, I know that." I pointed at Aurora's name. "But what is this ten percent?"

"The corporate registry shows this ten percent was transferred from Alex’s personal shares to her, free of charge, three years ago."

Three years ago. Again. The exact year he went to Paris with her.

"A free transfer?"

"Yes." Charlotte’s expression was grim.

"Christy, this means legally, Aurora is a shareholder in Alex’s company. She gets annual dividends."

I stared at the document, my vision blurring.

I had poured my life savings into his company, and all I got was the empty title of a "supportive wife."

But that woman, without contributing a single dime, became a shareholder and sat back to collect dividends every year.

Alex, you really are something else. What did you think of me?

A free housekeeper who guards your house, bears your child, serves you, and funds your mistress?

"Christy, are you okay?" Charlotte asked worriedly.

I shook my head and set the papers back on the table.

"I'm fine." My voice was incredibly calm, surprising even myself.

"Charlotte, if I file for divorce right now, what can I get?"

Charlotte blinked, then took a professional tone. "Don't rush. Let's take this step by step. First, the most important thing is evidence."

"I have it," I said. "The five-million-dollar insurance policy, and everything you just found."

"It's not enough," Charlotte shook her head. "These only prove his infidelity and the dissipation of marital assets. But to get back what you truly deserve, we need ironclad proof, especially the paper trail of that $600,000 your parents gave him."

"I bank-transferred that money to him in two installments. There are bank records."

"Did you write a memo on the transfer?"

"No. Back then... I trusted him completely."

Charlotte sighed. "That makes things trickier."

"He can easily argue that the money was a gift, or that it was already spent on family expenses. To prove it was a business investment and that he misappropriated it, we need to get our hands on the company's internal accounting books."

"He will never give them to me."

"I know," Charlotte’s eyes turned sharp. "So, we have to find a way to get them ourselves."