Chapter 6 - Adrian Had Asked About Divorce Before Rosalie Suspected AnythingRosalie slept for forty-seven minutes.
At 6:03 a.m., she woke on Maren's guest-room bed still wearing yesterday's clothes.
For several seconds, she didn't remember.
Then everything returned.
Closet.
Badge.
Necklace.
October 14.
Hotel photograph.
Aster Ridge.
Three million dollars.
She sat up.
Adrian had sent twenty-three messages.
The tone changed gradually.
Please answer.
Then:
We need to talk like adults.
Then:
Lily should not be kept from me.
Then:
If you continue refusing contact, I will come there.
Then:
I am asking you one last time to come home so we can handle this privately.
Rosalie read the last one twice.
One last time.
As though he was already creating a record.
She called a lawyer.
Not a family friend.
Not someone Adrian knew.
Maren recommended Katherine Bell, a divorce attorney who had represented one of her colleagues.
Katherine returned the call before seven.
"Do not go home alone."
Rosalie looked toward the hallway.
"Why?"
"Because you're emotionally compromised and your husband is already messaging about access to your child."
"He'd never hurt me."
"I didn't say he would."
Katherine's voice remained calm.
"I said don't create a situation where facts become disputed."
Rosalie understood.
Documentation.
Witnesses.
"Save every text."
"I already did."
"Good. Do you have access to financial accounts?"
"Some."
"Download statements."
"Already starting."
"Do not empty anything. Do not transfer large sums. Do not destroy property."
"I wouldn't."
"I know. I'm telling you because people do strange things when they're betrayed."
Rosalie looked at her sleeping daughter through the open doorway.
"What about Lily?"
"Keep her routine stable. Do not ask her questions about her father or Sienna."
Rosalie thought of the badge.
Lily had discovered the affair.
That made her feel sick.
"She saw Sienna."
"Then write down exactly what happened while it's fresh."
Katherine paused.
"Your husband may try to frame this as an innocent misunderstanding."
"He already has."
"Let him."
Rosalie frowned.
"What?"
"People who lie often believe the lie matters more than the evidence."
That sentence stayed with her.
At eight, Adrian arrived.
Maren saw him through the window.
"He's here."
Rosalie stood.
"Don't open it."
Adrian knocked.
Then rang.
Then called.
Maren opened the door only after Rosalie moved where she could hear but not be seen from outside.
"Where is my wife?"
Maren folded her arms.
"Good morning."
"I need to see Rosalie."
"She's not talking to you right now."
"I need to see my daughter."
"Lily is asleep."
"Wake her."
"No."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"This isn't your business."
"It became my business when my sister arrived here shaking."
"I'm not discussing my marriage with you."
"Excellent."
Maren started closing the door.
Adrian blocked it with his hand.
Rosalie stepped forward.
"Move your hand."
Adrian looked at her.
For a moment, the anger disappeared.
"Rosie."
She hated the nickname in his mouth.
"Move."
He did.
Maren kept the door partly open.
Adrian looked exhausted.
Maybe he hadn't slept either.
"Come home."
"No."
"We need to talk."
"Not here."
"Then where?"
"My attorney will contact you."
His face changed.
"Attorney?"
"Yes."
"Jesus Christ."
"Keep your voice down."
"You're hiring a divorce lawyer because Sienna was in our house?"
Rosalie stared.
"Because you've been sleeping with her for at least two years."
"That's not true."
"I have photographs."
That stopped him.
"From Miami."
Adrian's eyes shifted.
Tiny.
But enough.
"Who sent them?"
Rosalie almost laughed.
Not fake.
Not misunderstood.
Who sent them.
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because someone is trying to manipulate you."
"Did you sleep with her in Miami?"
Silence.
"Adrian."
He looked toward Maren.
"This is private."
Maren said:
"I can make coffee."
Rosalie almost smiled.
Adrian lowered his voice.
"It happened."
"Once?"
His eyes dropped.
Rosalie already knew.
"No."
"How many times?"
"I don't know."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I didn't count."
That answer hurt unexpectedly.
Adrian stepped closer.
"I was unhappy."
Rosalie stared.
There it was.
The oldest defense in the world.
"You were unhappy."
"Yes."
"So you hid your assistant in our closet."
"I panicked."
"You commissioned jewelry with both your initials."
"It wasn't—"
"Stop."
Rosalie's voice sharpened.
He did.
Then she asked:
"When were you planning to leave?"
Adrian froze.
"Who have you been talking to?"
"Answer."
"I never planned to leave."
"Daniel Cho says otherwise."
Adrian's face turned white.
That was confirmation before words.
"Daniel is a disgruntled former employee."
"He says you asked about my equity if we divorced."
"Business planning."
"Why was my divorce part of business planning?"
Adrian's jaw hardened.
"Because your shares complicate things."
Rosalie felt something colder than heartbreak.
"You mean my ownership."
He said nothing.
She stepped closer.
"How long have you been moving money to Aster Ridge?"
Adrian's eyes widened.
May you like
And for the first time since she'd found Sienna—
he looked genuinely afraid.
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