Chapter 6 - Adrian’s Version
Adrian was waiting when Kendra arrived home.
He sat at the kitchen island where they had shared breakfast that morning.
Eleven hours earlier, Kendra had kissed his cheek before he left.
Now his overnight bag rested near the staircase.
That pleased her.
At least he understood one thing.
“You talked to Brielle,” he said.
Kendra put her purse on the counter.
“Yes.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything she says.”
“I don’t.”
His expression shifted.
He had expected Brielle to carry the blame.
Kendra saw it.
“Sit down,” Adrian said.
“No.”
“Kendra, please.”
“This is still my house.”
“Our house.”
Kendra looked at him.
The home had been purchased jointly six years earlier.
He was correct.
She hated that he was correct.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I want you to hear me.”
“Go ahead.”
Adrian rubbed his face.
“What happened with Brielle was wrong.”
Kendra waited.
“I’m not going to defend it.”
“You introduced her as your wife.”
His eyes flickered.
“That was stupid.”
“That is not an explanation.”
“I told employees we were separated.”
“We weren’t.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Adrian exhaled.
“Because Brielle was uncomfortable coming there.”
“So you made her comfortable by erasing me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I was trying to keep the staff out of our personal business.”
Kendra stared at him.
“By lying to them about who your wife was.”
He stood.
“I screwed up.”
“You committed fraud.”
His face changed.
There.
That was the line.
Not affair.
Fraud.
“I did not.”
“My signature is on a consent form I never signed.”
Adrian became perfectly still.
Then he shook his head.
“You signed it.”
“No.”
“You sign dozens of documents.”
“I know my signature.”
“You may not remember.”
“I remember appearing before notaries.”
His jaw tightened.
“Kendra—”
“Who is Northstar Holdings?”
“A buyer.”
“Who owns it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who introduced them?”
“A broker.”
“Name?”
He hesitated.
She smiled.
“You don’t know that either?”
“Stop.”
“No.”
Adrian’s control cracked.
“You have treated Brielle like a child for six years.”
Kendra stared.
“And that gave you permission to sleep with her?”
“No. But it matters.”
“To your defense?”
“To what happened.”
“What happened is you found the one wound between two sisters and pushed your fingers into it.”
His eyes hardened.
“You think very highly of yourself.”
Kendra almost laughed.
“Interesting direction.”
“You do.”
He stepped closer.
“You think because Evelyn made you trustee, you became the responsible one. The smart one. The one who gets to decide what everybody deserves.”
Kendra felt the words land because pieces of them were true.
She had controlled.
She had decided.
She had protected Brielle without always listening to Brielle.
But truth inside manipulation remained manipulation.
“You told her I planned to steal her share.”
“I told her the structure was unfair.”
“That was not your decision.”
“You benefit from it.”
“So does she.”
“When you allow it.”
Kendra’s jaw tightened.
Adrian saw the hit.
He softened his voice.
“This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Brielle came to me because she was angry and hurt.”
“And you comforted her with your lap?”
His eyes flashed.
“Kendra.”
“No. Finish the story.”
Adrian turned away.
“I developed feelings.”
“For my sister.”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
“Separate issue.”
“No.”
“It is.”
“Linden Advisory receives nearly three hundred thousand dollars from the salon. Brielle owns Linden.”
“Linden performed legitimate work.”
“What work?”
“Acquisition research.”
“For Dawson Row?”
Silence.
Kendra stepped closer.
“You wanted my family’s building.”
“I wanted the salon to own its location.”
“At forty percent below appraised value.”
“The market changed.”
“Then show me the independent valuation.”
He said nothing.
Kendra felt strangely calm.
“Pack more than one bag.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You cannot kick me out of my house.”
“No. But you can choose whether tonight gets uglier than it already is.”
He studied her for a long moment.
Then his phone buzzed.
Adrian glanced at it.
Kendra saw the name before he turned the screen away.
BRIELLE.
Something inside Kendra finally snapped.
Not loudly.
Cleanly.
“Answer it.”
Adrian frowned.
“Kendra—”
“Answer your future wife.”
He declined the call.
Then Kendra noticed another notification beneath it.
COMMONWEALTH COMMERCIAL BANK.
TRANSFER DECLINED — ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION REQUIRED.
Adrian’s face drained.
Kendra said nothing.
He looked at her.
“What did you do?”
“I reported suspicious transfers.”
“You froze my business?”
“I flagged my business.”
Adrian stepped toward her.
“That payroll account supports twenty-three employees.”
“I did not freeze payroll.”
“You had no right.”
“I have forty-nine percent.”
“I manage the company.”
“And you sent company money to the woman you were sleeping with.”
His chest rose.
For the first time, Kendra saw real panic.
Not because his marriage was ending.
Because his money had stopped moving.
Then Adrian’s phone rang again.
He looked at the screen.
Kendra watched him answer.
“Yes?”
His expression changed.
“What do you mean they rejected it?”
A pause.
“No. Resubmit.”
Another pause.
Adrian turned away from Kendra.
“I said resubmit it.”
Kendra listened.
Then Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
She asked quietly, “How much were you trying to move?”
He did not answer.
Kendra stepped around the island.
His banking app was still open.
A transfer request sat on the screen.
$420,000.
May you like
Destination:
NORTHSTAR HOLDINGS LLC.
