Chapter 6 - The Money Natalie Said She Had Earned
Natalie agreed to meet with Ethan through attorneys.
She refused to discuss the relationship with Cole at first.
She wanted to discuss Northline.
“I was entitled to compensation.”
Ethan stared at her across the conference table.
“For invoices you didn’t disclose?”
“I supported your company for fourteen years.”
“You attended dinners.”
“I raised your child while you traveled.”
“That’s our marriage. Not a vendor contract.”
Natalie’s face hardened.
“Exactly.”
Ethan stopped.
That word carried years.
She continued.
“You got a company. Equity. Recognition. Employees who tell you how brilliant you are. I got a house people assume you paid for.”
“We built the house together.”
“With money your company generated.”
“And you had access to every household account.”
“Access isn’t ownership.”
Ethan understood the emotional truth inside her anger.
Natalie had felt economically dependent.
He had dismissed that more than once.
When she suggested returning to work after Ava started school, Ethan told her there was no need.
He thought he was offering comfort.
Natalie heard irrelevance.
Again, explanation was not permission.
“Why Northline?”
“Because if I asked you for eighty thousand dollars to start over, you would’ve wanted to know why.”
Ethan went still.
“Start over with Cole?”
Natalie finally looked away.
That was answer enough.
The plan had been to accumulate money she considered hers, wait until one major company refinancing closed, then leave Ethan.
Cole had been promised a future with her.
Natalie insisted she never intended to bankrupt Mercer Residential.
“The company makes millions.”
“That doesn’t make eighty-four thousand yours.”
“You spent more than that on a warehouse expansion without asking me.”
“It was company money used by the company.”
“And I was never part of that company because you made sure I wasn’t.”
Ethan felt anger rise.
Then something else.
Regret.
There had been a real marriage problem beneath an unforgivable response.
He could admit both.
Then Ethan’s attorney asked the question Natalie had avoided.
“Did Mrs. Mercer know Mr. Bennett was receiving or facilitating payments connected to Northline?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know he was approving invoices?”
“Yes.”
“Did they have a romantic relationship during this period?”
Natalie’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
The affair was now admitted.
But one issue remained.
The missing office key.
Natalie claimed she had taken it because some Northline documentation was inside the cabinet.
“Where is the key now?”
“With Cole.”
Ethan looked up.
“Why?”
Natalie did not answer.
Her attorney leaned toward her.
For the first time, Ethan saw real panic.
May you like
Cole had possession of access to files involving company money.
And apparently Natalie was no longer sure what he intended to do with it.
