Chapter 1 - The Hidden Ledger
Gretchen stared at the bank statements spread across Joshua’s polished mahogany desk.
Her hands trembled as she traced the path of the missing 1.2 million dollars.
The money had not simply vanished into a bad investment.
It had been meticulously siphoned into a shell company over the course of three years.
The name of the company was Cheyenne Enterprises.
She heard the sudden crunch of tires on the gravel driveway outside.
Joshua was not supposed to be home from the office for another four hours.
Gretchen scrambled to shove the folders back into the filing cabinet.
She heard the heavy front door unlock and swing open.
Footsteps echoed in the foyer, but they were not alone.
The sharp click of a woman's high heels tapped against the hardwood floor.
Gretchen pressed herself against the wall behind the office door.
She held her breath as Joshua's voice drifted down the hallway.
"She is signing the papers tomorrow morning," he said smoothly.
A woman laughed, the sound dripping with cold confidence.
"Are you sure she hasn't figured out about the offshore debt?" Cheyenne asked.
Gretchen's blood ran cold.
Joshua chuckled softly as he led the woman toward the kitchen.
"Gretchen is just a tired nurse who trusts me implicitly," he replied.
Gretchen slowly peeked through the crack in the door hinges.
She saw Cheyenne pull a document from her designer purse.
It was the final page of the divorce settlement Gretchen was supposed to sign.
But this version had a completely different set of clauses attached to the bottom.
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Joshua leaned in and kissed Cheyenne passionately.
"Once she signs this, the cartel debt officially becomes hers, and we are completely free," he whispered.
