Chapter 2 - The Image of Betrayal
Richard’s jaw tightened. The scene playing out in front of him was maddeningly perfect, captured with devastating clarity in A10.jpg. He stood over the table, his face a mask of shock and barely contained fury, while Tiffany watched nervously from the background. But the center of gravity in the room belonged entirely to Catherine. She sat across from the devastatingly calm Dominic Thorne, wrapped in an elegant white gown that accentuated her pregnancy. Resting on her stomach was her hand, the diamond wedding ring Richard had bought her gleaming in the candlelight—a symbol of a marriage she was quietly dismantling from the inside.
"I don't appreciate being ambushed, Catherine," Richard hissed, leaning down slightly, trying to lower his voice to avoid drawing the attention of the other elite diners. "And I certainly don't appreciate you playing business backchannels behind my back. Let's go home."
"I am not going anywhere, Richard," Catherine replied, taking a serene sip of her sparkling water. "And we aren't discussing backchannels. We are discussing the primary debt on Sterling Properties."
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Richard froze. "What?"
Dominic Thorne finally placed his wine glass down on the crisp white tablecloth. "Your wife is quite the strategist, Richard. You really should have paid more attention to her gallery connections. They gave her a wonderful understanding of how to authenticate a fraud."
