Chapter 6: The Lawyer Who Betrayed Me
The message stayed on my phone screen for several seconds before I could move.
Not because I didn’t understand the words.
Because I did.
*You should have stayed divorced.*
It wasn’t a warning.
It was a threat.
A reminder.
Someone wanted me to know they were watching.
Adrian saw my face change.
“What happened?””
I didn’t answer.
I just handed him the phone.
His eyes moved across the screen.
The moment he saw the photograph, every trace of emotion disappeared from his face.
The businessman returned.
Cold.
Focused.
Dangerous.
But this time, I saw something beneath it.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
“When was this taken?””
“I don’t know.””
Adrian looked at the image again.
The angle was wrong.
The person who took it wasn’t standing far away.
They were close.
Very close.
Close enough to hear us.
Close enough to know where I was standing.
Marco stepped beside him.
“Adrian.””
“I know.””
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“What?”” I asked.
He looked at me.
“Someone was in this hallway.””
The words made my stomach tighten.
The security officer immediately stepped forward.
“We’re checking the cameras.””
Adrian handed him the phone.
“Find whoever took this.””
The officer nodded and left.
I watched Adrian.
He looked like the man everyone feared.
But I knew him.
I knew the small signs.
The clenched jaw.
The rigid shoulders.
The way his fingers curled slightly when he was trying not to lose control.
He was scared.
And somehow, that scared me more.
“Adrian.””
He looked at me.
“What?””
“You think Rachel did this?””
His expression darkened.
“I think Rachel knows more than she told us.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“No.””
He looked away.
“It isn’t.””
The honesty surprised me.
A few months ago, Adrian would have avoided admitting uncertainty.
Now he stood in front of me with nothing to hide behind.
“I trusted her,” I said.
My voice sounded distant.
“I sat in her office and cried while she told me she would protect me.””
Adrian’s eyes softened slightly.
“Claire…”
“She held my hand when I signed those papers.””
A painful laugh escaped me.
“She looked me in the eyes and told me I was doing the right thing.””
I swallowed.
“And all this time…”
I couldn’t finish.
Because the betrayal felt worse than the divorce itself.
The divorce came from the person I loved.
But Rachel?
Rachel was supposed to be on my side.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Look at me.””
I didn’t want to.
But I did.
“I should have protected you.””
The words were so unexpected that I almost forgot to breathe.
“You didn’t know.””
“I should have known.””
His voice became rough.
“I spent years believing I was the smartest person in every room.””
He looked at the divorce papers.
“The truth is, I was the easiest person to manipulate.””
I stared at him.
Because that was the first time Adrian Moretti admitted weakness.
Not because he wanted forgiveness.
Because he finally understood the damage.
Before I could answer, the door opened.
A nurse walked in.
“Ms. Bennett?””
“Yes?””
“Dr. Harrison wants to speak with you.””
My heart jumped.
“Is something wrong?””
The nurse quickly shook her head.
“No. He just has some additional information about your records.””
Adrian immediately moved.
“I’ll come.””
The nurse hesitated.
“Sir, only the patient can—”
“He’s the father.””
I looked at Adrian.
The words felt strange.
Not bad.
Just unfamiliar.
The nurse nodded.
“Okay.””
We followed her into another office.
Dr. Harrison was sitting behind his desk, looking serious.
“Claire, please sit.””
I did.
Adrian remained standing.
The doctor noticed.
“Mr. Moretti, you may want to hear this.””
That sentence alone made my heart beat faster.
“What is it?””
Dr. Harrison opened a file.
“When you came in today, your records showed several unusual access attempts.””
“From Rachel Whitmore?”” Adrian asked.
The doctor looked surprised.
“You know?””
“We’re trying to understand.””
The doctor nodded.
“She wasn’t the only one.””
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?””
“Your file was accessed three times.””
“By who?””
The doctor turned the monitor toward us.
“The first access was Rachel Whitmore.””
Adrian’s face hardened.
“The second?””
The doctor hesitated.
“The second was authorized under a family account.””
A cold silence filled the room.
“What family account?””
The doctor looked at Adrian.
“Moretti family medical access.””
Adrian froze.
“My family doesn’t have access to my wife’s records.””
The doctor didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Because we all understood.
Someone inside the Moretti family system had been watching me.
“Who authorized it?”” Adrian asked.
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
“We don’t have a name attached.””
“Then find one.””
“Adrian.””
The doctor’s tone became careful.
“I understand your concern. But you need to know something else.””
“What?””
“The third access happened yesterday.””
I felt cold.
“Yesterday?””
“Yes.””
“Who was it?””
The doctor looked at the file.
Then at me.
“Claire, the third access was from your own account.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“No one has my password.””
The doctor nodded.
“That’s why it’s concerning.””
Adrian looked at me.
“Did anyone ask you for your login information?””
“No.””
“Did anyone have your phone?””
I thought.
Then remembered.
The coffee shop.
Two days earlier.
A stranger bumping into me.
My phone falling.
A small moment I barely noticed.
“Wait.””
Adrian immediately focused.
“What?””
“Two days ago, someone knocked my phone out of my hand.””
His expression changed.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“What did they look like?””
I closed my eyes.
Trying to remember.
“A woman.””
Adrian went still.
“What woman?””
“I don’t know. She apologized.””
“What did she say?””
I searched my memory.
Then my heart stopped.
“She called me Claire.””
Adrian’s expression changed.
“How?””
I shook my head.
“She knew my name.””
Nobody spoke.
Because random strangers don’t know your name.
Not unless they are watching you.
The office door suddenly opened.
Marco walked in.
His face was serious.
“Adrian.””
Something about his voice made us all look up.
“What?””
“We found Rachel.””
My heart stopped.
“Where?””
Marco looked at me.
“She left Manhattan.””
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“When?””
“Thirty minutes ago.””
“Where is she going?””
Marco hesitated.
Then answered:
“To the airport.””
“Which one?””
“Private terminal.””
Adrian immediately grabbed his coat.
I stood.
“You’re leaving?””
He stopped.
The question came out sharper than I intended.
“No.””
He turned.
“I’m finding answers.””
“Without me?””
His expression changed.
“Claire—”
“No.””
I stood straighter.
“I’m done being the person everyone makes decisions for.””
The room became quiet.
Adrian looked at me.
And I saw him understand.
This wasn’t about Rachel.
Not completely.
This was about three years of me feeling powerless.
He nodded slowly.
“You’re right.””
The words surprised me.
“I should have included you from the beginning.””
I looked away.
“Because it’s my life too.””
“I know.””
He stepped closer.
“Then come with me.””
I studied him.
The old Adrian would have said:
Stay here.
I’ll handle it.
But he didn’t.
He asked.
And somehow, that mattered.
Thirty minutes later, we were leaving the hospital.
Marco drove.
Adrian sat beside me in the back seat.
For the first time in months, we were together.
Not as husband and wife.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
But as two people chasing the truth.
The city moved past the window.
And I thought about everything we had lost.
The marriage.
The trust.
The years.
Then Adrian’s phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“Did you find her?””
A pause.
His face changed.
“What do you mean she disappeared?””
I turned toward him.
“What happened?””
He ended the call slowly.
“Rachel wasn’t running away.””
Marco looked in the rearview mirror.
“Then where was she going?””
Adrian looked at me.
His voice dropped.
“She was meeting someone.””
“Who?””
He stared at the phone.
Then showed us the message.
A location.
A time.
And one name.
My blood turned cold.
Because the person Rachel was meeting…
May you like
Was the last person I expected.
*Vanessa Russo.*
