Chapter 6: The Woman Who Helped Him Betray Me
I stared at Tasha.
For months, I had imagined what I would say if I ever stood face-to-face with her.
The woman who sat beside my husband in court.
The woman wearing the bracelet I once found hidden in his car.
The woman everyone believed was my replacement.
I thought I would feel anger.
Rage.
Maybe even hatred.
But standing in that hidden room, surrounded by evidence of Darius’s lies, I felt something else.
Confusion.
Because Tasha looked nothing like the confident woman I had seen in the courtroom.
Her mascara was slightly smudged.
Her hands were shaking.
And for the first time, she looked afraid of Darius.
Not loyal to him.
Afraid.
“How do you know about this room?”” I asked.
She swallowed.
“Because I helped him create it.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
I stepped back.
“You built this?””
“No.””
Her eyes dropped.
“I helped him organize what was inside.””
I looked around the room.
The folders.
The files.
The computer.
The evidence of a life built on deception.
“You knew?””
Tasha didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
“You knew he was collecting information on me?””
“I didn’t know what it was at first.””
I laughed quietly.
A bitter sound.
“Really?””
She looked at me.
“I know how that sounds.””
“It sounds like you’re trying to explain why you helped my husband destroy me.””
Her face tightened.
“I deserve that.””
That surprised me.
People like Tasha usually defended themselves.
They blamed someone else.
They found excuses.
But she didn’t.
She just stood there.
Taking the accusation.
“Why are you here?”” I asked.
She looked toward the hidden shelves.
“Because I realized too late what Darius was doing.””
“And now you want to help me?””
“I want to stop him.””
The silence between us stretched.
Then I picked up the folder again.
“Start talking.””
Tasha nodded.
But before she spoke, she closed the hidden door behind her.
A small gesture.
But it told me something.
She was scared someone would hear.
“Six months ago, Darius told me he was preparing for a divorce.””
My jaw tightened.
“Six months?””
“Yes.””
I looked down at the folder in my hand.
The dates.
The planning.
The preparation.
Everything suddenly made sense.
“He wasn’t surprised by the divorce.””
“No.””
Tasha looked ashamed.
“He had been preparing for it for almost a year.””
I felt a strange emptiness in my chest.
A year.
I thought back.
A year ago, Darius was still kissing me goodbye every morning.
Still sitting at our kitchen table.
Still telling Zuri bedtime stories.
Meanwhile, he was building a case against me.
“Why?””
Tasha looked away.
“Because of what he found.””
“What did he find?””
She hesitated.
Then she said:
“Something from his past.””
The same words.
The same mystery.
Lauren.
I crossed my arms.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
“Because everyone who knows the truth is afraid of it.””
“Afraid of what?””
Tasha looked at the computer.
“Darius wasn’t always successful.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“When he started his company, he had investors.””
“I know.””
“No, you know the story he tells.””
She walked closer to the desk.
“He tells people he built everything himself.””
She touched one of the folders.
“He didn’t.””
I opened another file.
Inside were old documents.
Partnership agreements.
Names.
Dates.
Then I saw one name repeated.
Lauren Mitchell.
“She was an investor?””
Tasha nodded.
“More than that.””
“How much more?””
Tasha looked at me.
“She was the person who made his company possible.””
I stared at the papers.
“Then why did he erase her?””
“Because she found out what he was doing.””
I looked up.
“What?””
Tasha took a deep breath.
“Darius was moving money before he became your husband.””
The room seemed colder.
“He created fake contracts. Fake vendors. Fake expenses.””
I thought about my own investigation.
The transfers.
The shell companies.
The fake consulting fees.
“He was stealing.””
“Yes.””
“But Lauren found out.””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
Tasha’s eyes filled with fear.
“She confronted him.””
“And?””
“He destroyed her.””
The word hung in the air.
Not hurt her.
Not betrayed her.
Destroyed her.
“How?””
Tasha looked at me.
“The same way he’s trying to destroy you.””
My stomach tightened.
“False evidence.””
She nodded.
“Fake messages. Manipulated records. Witnesses who suddenly changed their stories.””
My mind flashed back to the divorce petition.
The accusations.
The words.
Unstable.
Emotional.
Reckless.
“He has done this before.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the folders.
“How many people?””
Tasha was silent.
Then:
“I don’t know.””
That answer scared me more than if she had given a number.
I opened another file.
Inside were names.
Different names.
Different dates.
Different accusations.
My hands trembled.
These weren’t business records.
They were people.
People Darius had labeled as problems.
People he had rewritten.
I looked at Tasha.
“Why were you involved?””
Her face changed.
Finally, shame appeared.
“Because I believed him.””
The honesty surprised me.
“He told me you were leaving him.””
I said nothing.
“He told me you were unstable. That you were hurting him emotionally. That he was trying to protect himself and Zuri.””
I looked away.
The same story.
Again.
“He showed me videos.””
My head snapped back.
“What videos?””
“Videos of you crying. Angry. Upset.””
My blood ran cold.
“The videos in this room.””
“Yes.””
“He edited them.””
Tasha nodded.
“He only showed the parts that made you look bad.””
I felt something break inside.
Not because I didn’t know he was lying.
I knew.
But hearing someone else confirm it made the pain real.
“He used me,” Tasha whispered.
I looked at her.
“You were having an affair with my husband.””
Her eyes closed.
“I know.””
The room became quiet.
“I won’t pretend I’m innocent, Emma.””
For the first time, she looked directly at me.
“I made choices that hurt you.””
I waited.
“But Darius never loved me.””
I didn’t respond.
“He loved control.””
That sentence stayed in the air.
Because deep down, I knew it was true.
Tasha looked at the computer.
“There’s something you need to see.””
She moved toward the keyboard.
I stepped forward.
“What?””
“The reason Darius is desperate to stop you from finding everything.””
She typed a password.
The screen unlocked.
I looked at her.
“How do you know the password?””
She gave a sad smile.
“Because he made me enter it hundreds of times.””
The screen opened.
Folders appeared.
One was labeled:
*PROJECT ZURI.*
My entire body froze.
“No.””
Tasha looked at me.
“Emma—”
I clicked it.
Inside were videos.
Dozens of them.
Dates.
Times.
Locations.
I opened the newest file.
The screen showed my living room.
A hidden camera angle.
My breath caught.
“When was this recorded?””
Tasha didn’t answer.
I looked at the date.
Yesterday.
Yesterday.
While I was preparing for court.
While I thought I was alone.
Darius was watching.
The video played.
It showed me sitting on the couch crying after Zuri went to bed.
Then Darius’s voice came through.
Not from the room.
From a recording.
“See?””
My blood ran cold.
The video wasn’t for him.
It was for someone else.
A man’s voice responded.
“I see.””
Darius answered:
“She’s exactly where we need her.””
I stared at the screen.
Another voice spoke.
“Then the custody case will work?””
Darius laughed softly.
“If she reacts the way I expect, yes.””
The video stopped.
I couldn’t move.
Tasha whispered:
“There’s more.””
I turned toward her.
“How much more?””
Her expression changed.
Like she already knew the answer would break me.
“Enough to explain why Zuri was never the real target.””
I felt a chill.
“What do you mean?””
Tasha looked at the folder.
Then at me.
“Emma…”
Her voice dropped.
“Darius wasn’t trying to take your daughter away from you.””
A pause.
“He was trying to use Zuri to get something else.””
Before I could ask what, the computer screen flickered.
A new notification appeared.
*Remote access detected.*
Tasha’s face went white.
“He knows we’re here.””
The hidden room lights suddenly shut off.
Darkness swallowed us.
Then the speakers in the room turned on.
Darius’s voice echoed through the walls.
“Emma.””
A pause.
“I really hoped you would never open that door.””
I froze.
His voice became colder.
“But since you did…”
A click sounded.
The main office door locked.
“You and Tasha can stay there until you understand something.””
My heart pounded.
“What?””
Darius whispered through the speakers:
“You’re not uncovering my secrets.””
May you like
A pause.
“You’re uncovering why I had to bury them.””
