I did not answer Corinne's email.
At six-fifteen that evening, she appeared outside my apartment.
I knew it was her before opening the door because she knocked in the same impatient rhythm she used on my office door.
Three quick taps.
Pause.
Two more.
I stood inside without moving.
“Daniel.”
Her voice came through the wood.
“I know you're home.”
I should have ignored her.
Instead, I opened the door but left the chain fastened.
Corinne looked different.
No carefully arranged hair.
No office clothes.
She wore black leggings, a sweatshirt, and almost no makeup.
“What are you doing here?”
“You told them.”
“I told them what I knew.”
“You gave them my name.”
“They already had your name.”
“You confirmed it.”
I looked down the hallway.
“You need to leave.”
“Please.”
The word surprised me.
Corinne rarely pleaded.
She looked over her shoulder.
“Can I come inside?”
“No.”
Her face tightened.
“Daniel, people can hear.”
“Then keep your voice down.”
She stared at me through the narrow opening.
“You don't understand what they're accusing me of.”
“What are they accusing you of?”
“Nothing officially.”
“Then why are you here?”
Her eyes flicked away.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What did you do?”
“I didn't steal anything.”
I hadn't used the word steal.
That mattered.
“Corinne.”
She pressed her lips together.
“The expense system is complicated.”
“So explain it.”
“I moved charges between codes.”
“For us?”
“Sometimes.”
“How many times?”
“I don't know.”
“How much money?”
“I don't know.”
“Try.”
She stared at me.
“Maybe twelve thousand.”
The number hit me physically.
“Twelve thousand dollars?”
“Over almost a year.”
“Our affair didn't last a year.”
“No.”
The hallway seemed to narrow.
“What does that mean?”
She didn't answer.
“Corinne.”
“Some expenses had nothing to do with you.”
I looked at her.
“What were they?”
She glanced toward the elevator.
“Can I please come inside?”
“No.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Stop treating me like I'm dangerous.”
“I don't know what you are right now.”
Her face changed.
For a second, the woman I had been sleeping with disappeared and someone colder looked back.
Then the expression softened.
“I was trying to keep up.”
“With what?”
She laughed bitterly.
“With everyone.”
I waited.
She rubbed her forehead.
“Client dinners. Clothes. Travel. You think people in that office don't notice what you're wearing? Where you're staying? Who's invited where?”
“So you fabricated expenses?”
“I shifted them.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is.”
“No.”
I held her gaze.
“Did you submit personal purchases as business expenses?”
Silence.
That was answer enough.
“How much?”
“I don't know exactly.”
“You just said twelve thousand.”
“That includes everything.”
“What everything?”
“Hotels. Meals. Transportation. Event tickets.”
My mind moved backward through months of receipts.
“The bracelet?”
Her eyes changed.
I stared.
“The bracelet I bought?”
“No.”
“The handbag?”
She didn't answer.
I felt cold.
“I bought you that.”
“You paid me back.”
“What?”
“Eventually.”
“I gave you money?”
“You transferred it.”
“To your personal account?”
“No.”
She looked away.
“Which account?”
“Daniel.”
“Which account?”
She closed her eyes.
“A payment account connected to a vendor.”
I stared at her.
“You created a fake vendor?”
“No.”
“Then whose was it?”
“A friend's.”
I almost laughed from disbelief.
“You had me send money to a vendor account?”
“You thought it was for event deposits.”
I remembered.
A transfer eight weeks earlier.
Corinne told me a restaurant required an advance deposit for a client event and company reimbursement would take too long.
I sent sixteen hundred dollars.
I never checked whether it was repaid.
“Where did that money go?”
She said nothing.
“Corinne.”
“It covered some personal expenses.”
“Yours?”
“Yes.”
I stepped back.
The door chain pulled taut.
She saw my expression.
“Don't act shocked.”
“I sent money because you lied about what it was for.”
“You gave me thousands in gifts.”
“Gifts are different from fraud.”
“I didn't force you.”
“I know.”
My voice sounded harsher than I intended.
“I know exactly what I did voluntarily. That's why I'm not lying to HR.”
She pressed closer to the doorway.
“You can tell them you misunderstood.”
“No.”
“You can say the charges looked legitimate.”
“Some did.”
“Then say all of them did.”
“No.”
Her eyes hardened.
“If they fire me, they'll come after you too.”
“Maybe.”
“You have a child.”
I stared at her.
“Don't use Mabel.”
“I'm saying you need income.”
“I know what you're saying.”
“You're going through a divorce. Do you think losing your job helps custody?”
There it was.
Not concern.
Leverage.
“You need to leave.”
“Daniel, listen to me.”
“No.”
“After everything between us?”
The question might once have worked.
Now it sounded almost absurd.
“Everything between us is part of why I'm standing here.”
She blinked.
“I loved you.”
Maybe she did.
That was the uncomfortable part.
People could love badly.
Possessively.
Selfishly.
I had.
“I believed you,” I said.
Her face softened.
“Then help me.”
“No.”
The softness vanished.
“You'll regret that.”
I felt something inside me go still.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
“You just said—”
“I said you'll regret blowing up your career over paperwork.”
“Leave.”
She stared at me another second.
Then she turned and walked toward the elevator.
I closed the door.
My hands were shaking.
I immediately wrote down everything she had said.
Time.
Date.
Amounts.
Vendor account.
The twelve-thousand-dollar estimate.
Then I emailed the notes to the internal investigator.
Five minutes later, I forwarded them to my attorney.
I had hired one after Rebecca strongly recommended I stop navigating everything alone.
His name was Aaron Pike.
He called within ten minutes.
“Did you record the conversation?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I frowned.
“Good?”
“Depending on the jurisdiction, recording rules can complicate things. Written contemporaneous notes are useful.”
“She threatened me.”
“Maybe.”
“She said I'd regret it.”
“That is vague.”
“It didn't feel vague.”
“Feelings and evidence are different.”
That sentence irritated me.
Then I realized how often I had once treated my feelings as evidence.
Elise is distant.
Therefore she doesn't care.
Corinne makes me feel appreciated.
Therefore the affair means something noble.
I'm unhappy.
Therefore I deserve to lie.
I sat down.
“What should I do if she comes back?”
“Do not let her inside. Do not meet her privately. Keep every message.”
“Okay.”
“And tell Rebecca.”
“Why?”
“Because this can affect the custody case if there's any concern she may involve Elise or Mabel.”
My chest tightened.
“She wouldn't.”
Aaron remained silent.
I hated that silence.
“You think she would?”
“I don't know her.”
Neither did I.
That realization stayed with me all night.
How much had I actually known about Corinne?
I knew her coffee order.
Her favorite restaurants.
Her perfume.
The stories she told about former boyfriends.
What made her laugh.
What she wore when she wanted my attention.
But I didn't know her finances.
I didn't know about the vendor account.
I didn't know she'd contacted my mother three times.
I didn't know she had been telling coworkers our future plans as facts.
I didn't know how many corporate charges she had manipulated.
I had mistaken secrecy for intimacy.
The next morning, I called Rebecca.
She listened without interruption.
“Do you believe Corinne might contact Elise?”
“I don't know.”
“Has she before?”
“Not intentionally, as far as I know. Except the mistaken message.”
Rebecca paused.
“I'll inform Elise.”
“Don't frighten her.”
“That isn't your decision.”
The words stung.
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“You're getting better at that.”
“At what?”
“Stopping before arguing.”
I almost smiled.
“Expensive lesson.”
“I imagine so.”
My next visit with Mabel was scheduled for Wednesday.
For the first time, Elise brought her alone.
No Diane.
No Rebecca.
No family-center staff.
Just Elise standing outside my apartment with Mabel in the carrier.
I opened the door.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
She looked tired.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes.”
I stepped aside.
She entered.
Her eyes went automatically to the crib, the changing table, the kitchen.
Then she noticed the new sterilizer.
“You bought one.”
“After humiliating myself last time.”
“You didn't humiliate yourself.”
“I installed a car seat wrong and forgot half your instructions.”
“One instruction.”
“One important instruction.”
She looked at me.
“That's different.”
I wasn't sure what she meant.
Maybe she wasn't either.
I took Mabel from the carrier.
Our daughter immediately reached for my nose.
I laughed.
“You remember me.”
“She remembers everyone now.”
I looked at Elise.
“Let me have this.”
A small smile appeared.
This time she didn't hide it quickly.
Mabel tugged my lip.
I winced.
“She also attacks everyone.”
“That I believe.”
For several seconds, it felt almost normal.
That was dangerous.
Normal invited hope.
I carried Mabel toward the living room.
Elise remained near the door.
“Rebecca told me about Corinne.”
I stopped.
“I didn't know she was coming here.”
“I believe you.”
The sentence stunned me.
I turned.
Elise looked uncomfortable.
“I believe you didn't invite her.”
I nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
“She contacted me yesterday.”
Everything inside me tightened.
“What?”
“She emailed.”
“What did she say?”
“That you were destroying her career because you wanted to impress me.”
My mouth went dry.
“Elise—”
“I didn't respond.”
“Send it to Rebecca.”
“I already did.”
“Did she threaten you?”
“No.”
“What exactly did she say?”
Elise's expression hardened.
“You don't get to interrogate me.”
I stopped.
Mabel shifted against my chest.
“You're right.”
Elise looked away.
After a moment, she said, “She told me you were pretending to be remorseful because you wanted better custody terms.”
I felt anger flare.
“That isn't true.”
“I know.”
I stared.
Elise seemed to realize what she had said.
Her face closed.
“I mean Rebecca has documented your compliance.”
“No.”
I adjusted Mabel carefully.
“You said you know.”
She exhaled.
“Daniel.”
“I won't push.”
“Good.”
A silence stretched between us.
Then Elise looked at the floor.
“I know what pretending looks like.”
That hurt more than accusation.
Because she had lived beside it.
Months of it.
Maybe years.
I swallowed.
“I'm sorry.”
“I know.”
No forgiveness.
No comfort.
Just acknowledgment.
She picked up her purse.
“I'll be back at three.”
“Okay.”
She left.
The visit went smoothly.
Mabel slept for forty minutes.
Drank a bottle.
Screamed during tummy time.
Laughed when I made a ridiculous noise.
At two-thirty, while she was lying beneath the mobile, my phone rang.
Human Resources.
I answered.
“Daniel, this is Laura.”
My chest tightened.
“We've completed the initial phase of the investigation.”
I stepped into the kitchen while keeping Mabel in sight.
“Okay.”
“We found evidence of systematic expense manipulation involving Corinne Hayes.”
I closed my eyes.
“How much?”
“Current estimate is just over forty-two thousand dollars.”
I gripped the counter.
“What?”
“Not all charges involve you.”
Forty-two thousand.
I thought of Corinne standing outside my door saying twelve.
“Am I being fired?”
A pause.
“No decision has been made.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your failure to review certain reports was serious. However, your cooperation and disclosure are being considered.”
I stared at Mabel.
“What about Corinne?”
“Her employment was terminated this morning.”
My stomach dropped.
Not because I thought the decision was wrong.
Because I knew immediately what it might trigger.
“When?”
“Approximately an hour ago.”
I checked the clock.
2:38.
Elise was due at three.
I looked toward the apartment door.
“Laura, did security escort her out?”
“Yes.”
“Did she say anything?”
A pause.
“She was upset.”
My pulse accelerated.
“How upset?”
“Daniel?”
“Did she mention me?”
“I can't discuss another employee's personnel matter.”
I ended the call and immediately called Elise.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
I called Rebecca.
Voicemail.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Corinne.
Congratulations.
A second followed.
You got what you wanted.
Then a third.
Now I'm going to make sure Elise knows what you really wanted too.
I stared at the screen.
Before I could respond, someone knocked at my door.
Three fast taps.
Pause.
Two more.
Mabel startled and began to cry.
I stood frozen in the kitchen.
Corinne was outside.
Elise was due in twenty minutes.
And for the first time since this began, I was not afraid of what Corinne might do to me.
I was afraid of what would happen if Elise arrived while she was still there.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: Corinne Arrived Minutes Before Elise and Forced Me to Choose Between Protecting Myself and Finally Protecting My Family
I Came Home Carrying a Diamond Bracelet and Found Every Trace of My Wife and Daughter Missing
Part 7 of 27
