Alice's POV
I ran down the hotel corridor as soon as I got out of that room. At the side door, I almost slipped. I pushed it open. I kept consoling myself that it was just one night.
When I got home, I had a call from the real estate agent.
"Your new place is ready," she said. "You can move in tomorrow."
"Good. I'll come by this evening to pick up the rest." I hung up and looked at my bags. I had to go back to the house and get the things I left. I could not leave everything behind.
I was planning on selling the house soon after I got settled, but for now, I really needed a new environment and a new job.
I pushed the hallway door and heard laughter. I went into the house, wondering if they had dared to come back.
Inside, my ex-husband stood near the bed with Clara. They had not been careful. They were wearing nothing proper. When I opened the door, they turned and froze.
"Get your things. Now." My voice was quiet at first. Then it got louder.
I kept my face steady. I did not want them to see me weak.
Daniel moved forward, hands out, and with his voice shaking.
"Alice, please. Let me explain. Don't make things worse."
I pulled my hand from his chest and shook it off. "Explain? What is there to explain? You lied to me. You lied to me for months."
He tried to touch my arm again. I stepped back. "Don't touch me."
Clara was still standing by the bed, wrapping a sheet around herself. She looked at me with this smirk on her face, like she was proud of what she did.
"You should have known," she said, her voice calm. "You were always too busy with work. Too busy being the perfect wife, and Daniel needed someone who actually paid attention to him."
I felt my blood boil. "Paid attention? I worked to support this house. To support him. While you were busy destroying my life."
She laughed, and I really felt like moving close and giving her a dirty slap.
"Your life was already falling apart, Alice. I just helped speed things up."
I moved toward her, and Daniel jumped between us.
"Alice, stop. This isn't helping anyone."
"Get out of my way," I said, my voice low.
He didn't move.
"Alice, please. We can talk about this. We can figure something out."
"Figure what out?" I shouted. "You cheated on me with my best friend. You filed for divorce before I even knew what was happening. You lied to me for God knows how long. What is there to figure out?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't let him. "And Sterling & Cross. You're involved in it, aren't you? All those irregularities I found. All those offshore accounts. You knew about it, and you were part of it."
His face went pale, and Clara's smirk disappeared.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Daniel said quickly. Too quickly.
"Don't lie to me," I said. "I worked in that company for three years. I saw the records. I saw the shell companies and all. And when I tried to report it, they fired me; they branded me a criminal. And you, you just stood there and watched it happen."
"Alice, you don't understand," he said, his voice shaking now. "It's not that simple. Sterling & Cross, they're powerful. If you go against them, they'll destroy you."
"They already destroyed me," I said. "They took my job, my reputation, and everything. And you helped them do it."
Clara moved toward the door, grabbing her clothes. "I'm not staying here for this," she said.
"Good. Leave, both of you. Get out of my house."
Daniel didn't move. He just stood there, looking at me. "Alice, I'm sorry. I never meant for it to go this far. I just—I got caught up in it. The money, the promotions. I didn't think about what it would do to you."
"You didn't think about me at all," I said. "Now get out."
He hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his bag from the corner. Clara was already at the door, waiting for him.
Before he left, he turned back to me.
"Be careful, Alice. Sterling & Cross doesn't forget. If they think you still have evidence, they'll come after you."
"Let them come."
He shook his head slowly. "You don't know what you're dealing with."
"Then maybe you should have thought about that before you got involved," I said.
He left without another word. Clara followed him. The door slammed shut behind them.
I stood there in the empty room, my chest heaving, my hands shaking. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But I didn't. I just stood there, staring at the door.
After a few minutes, I started packing again. I moved faster this time, throwing clothes into bags, grabbing documents, and shoving everything I could into boxes.
I found the USB drives hidden in my desk drawer. Three of them. Each one filled with evidence. Financial records. Emails. Offshore account numbers. Everything I'd copied before Sterling & Cross fired me.
I held them in my hand, staring at them. These little drives held everything. Everything that could destroy Sterling & Cross. Everything that could send Daniel and his bosses to prison.
But they also put a target on my back.
Daniel was right about one thing. Sterling & Cross didn't forget. And if they knew I still had this evidence, they would come after me.
I shoved the drives into my laptop bag and kept packing.
By the time I finished, it was already late. The movers would come tomorrow to get the furniture. But I couldn't stay here tonight. Not in this house. Not with all these memories.
I grabbed my bags and walked out. I didn't look back. I didn't want to.
I took a cab to a small hotel near the new house. It was cheap and quiet. No one would look for me there.
I dropped my bags on the floor when I entered the room and sat on the bed. My body felt heavy. My mind felt numb.
I thought about everything that had happened. The betrayal. The divorce. The job loss. The one-night stand with a stranger.
My life had fallen apart in a matter of weeks.
But I was still here. I was still breathing. And I wasn't going to let them win.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the messages. There was one from the real estate agent confirming the move-in date. Another from my lawyer about finalizing the divorce papers.
And then there was an email from a job site inviting me for an interview.
I opened it slowly.
"Dear Ms. Alice Reynolds, we have reviewed your application and would like to invite you for an interview at Hale Global Enterprises."
Hale Global Enterprises.
I stared at the name for a long time. I'd heard of them before. They were big and powerful, and also one of the top companies in the city.
Why would they want to interview me? My resume was good, but after being fired from Sterling & Cross, most companies wouldn't even look at me.
Unless they didn't know about Sterling & Cross, and I'd applied under my maiden name, which didn't connect me to the scandal.
I read the email again, and the interview was in three days, on Friday morning.
I should have been happy that this was a chance, and a real chance, to start over.
But something felt off, something I couldn't explain.
I closed my phone and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.