Chloe Comes Back
Chapter 06 - Chloe Comes Back
At six that evening, the doorbell rang.
Chloe stood outside.
Alone.
Elena almost closed the door.
“I need five minutes,” Chloe said.
“You had your five minutes yesterday.”
“Ryan lied to both of us.”
Elena hesitated.
Then she stepped aside.
Chloe placed a folder on the kitchen table.
“I work for my father’s investment company. We buy distressed luxury properties.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“This property isn’t distressed.”
“I know that now.”
Chloe opened the folder.
Inside were emails from Ryan.
He claimed Elena wanted a quiet sale because she could not emotionally handle negotiations after her mother’s death.
He claimed the marriage was ending.
He claimed the villa belonged to them jointly.
And he claimed they desperately needed cash.
Elena read every message.
Then she reached the final page.
A proposed wire transfer.
Three hundred thousand dollars.
To a private account controlled by Ryan.
“What is this?”
Chloe swallowed.
“A consulting fee.”
“For arranging the sale?”
“Yes.”
Elena understood.
Ryan planned to sell the villa below market value to Chloe’s company.
In exchange, he would receive money privately.
Chloe looked ashamed.
“I thought it was legal.”
“You also thought he was single.”
“I thought he was separated.”
Elena closed the folder.
“Why are you showing me this?”
Chloe looked toward the pool.
“Because last night, after I left, he called me.”
Elena waited.
“He told me to delete everything.”
Chloe met her eyes.
“And then he said something about your mother that I don’t think you know.”
For the first time since catching them together, Elena felt real fear.
“What did he say?”
May you like
Chloe’s answer changed the story again.
“He said your mother tried to warn you about him.”
