Chapter 3

On the flight to Paris, Cole and I barely spoke.

I kept my eye mask on, pretending to sleep, while my mind raced to find a way out of this.

I had to get enough evidence to ruin him before he realized I was on to him.

Once we landed, Cole checked us into a luxury hotel. He played the role of the doting husband perfectly, arranging everything.

But it only made my skin crawl.

That night, he claimed he had to meet a "French business partner."

I knew it was a lie. He was meeting his accomplice.

Right after he left, my phone buzzed. It was an encrypted text from Julian.

It was an image of the bank account holder's details.

The account belonged to a man named Douglas, registered in a remote town.

But it was Julian’s note below that made my heart race:

"This man owns a shell company. It was registered six months ago. No actual business operations."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Douglas... shell company...

I immediately connected it to a name in Cole's journal. He had mentioned needing "Douglas" to move some funds.

It was him!

Julian sent another message right after.

"Toni, this is much bigger than you think. Where are you? We need to meet."

His tone had completely changed. He was no longer the detached lawyer. He believed me.

I sent him my hotel address in Paris.

He said he would get there as fast as he could.

Waiting for Julian was agonizing. I was terrified Cole would walk in at any moment.

I wiped my chat history with Julian, muted my phone, and hid it under my pillow.

About two hours later, there was a knock at the door.

I peered through the peephole. It was Julian.

He was wearing a sharp, tailored suit, looking slightly exhausted from the travel, but his eyes were incredibly sharp.

I opened the door and let him in.

"Toni," he greeted, nodding.

"Julian, thank you for coming."

"Don't worry about it. It's my job." He sat down on the sofa, getting straight to business.

"Now, tell me everything. No more 'hypothetical friend' stories."

I didn't hold back. I told him about finding the journal, the revenge entries, and everything Cole had admitted.

I tried to stay strong, but my voice cracked when I spoke about our seven years being a lie.

Julian listened quietly, never interrupting.

When I finished, he remained silent for a long moment.

"Toni, I am so sorry you have to go through this," he said, his tone softening.

"But from this moment on, you cannot let your emotions guide you. You need to stay calm, and you need to trust me completely."

I nodded.

"Cole’s target is the Franklin Group," Julian explained, his expression grave. "Based on what you've shown me, he’s likely planning a hostile takeover or trying to siphon the company’s core assets."

"We have to stop him before he makes his move."

"How?" I asked.

"Step one: keep him calm. He can't know that you're onto him. You have to keep acting like the happy bride for the rest of this honeymoon."

"Step two: we need more concrete evidence. A journal entry and one wire transfer aren't enough to hold up in court. We need proof of corporate embezzlement or insider trading."

"Step three: I will dig into Cole's real family background. We need to find out what this 'vengeance' is actually about."

Julian’s logic was flawless. It brought a sense of calm to my chaotic mind.

"I understand."

"And one more thing," Julian said, looking into my eyes. "From now on, only contact me through this secure, encrypted app. I'll show you how to use it."

We talked late into the night.

Shortly after Julian left, Cole came back.

He smelled of alcohol, but his eyes were completely sober.

"How was your meeting?" I asked casually, pretending to read.

"Good. Just talked some business." He shrugged out of his coat, his eyes scanning the room as if checking for anything out of place.

Finally, his gaze landed on my face.

"You seem... different tonight."

My heart leaped into my throat.