Then froze completely.
Because beneath the headline was a younger version of Callie.
And suddenly every missing piece snapped together.
Edward Hawthorne.
The billionaire developer who once owned nearly half the luxury waterfront projects in the Midwest.
The man Dominic admired obsessively during business school.
The man whose empire mysteriously disappeared after his death.
Dominic looked up slowly.
“That’s impossible.”
Arthur’s expression darkened.
“Apparently not.”
Thomas quietly added, “Callie Hawthorne never used her maiden name publicly after college.”
Dominic’s mouth went dry.
Callie wasn’t some soft, dependent housewife.
She was the daughter of one of the richest developers in the country.
And he never knew.
Or maybe…
She never wanted him to know.
Arthur slid another document toward him.
“This came directly from Hawthorne Holdings.”
Dominic stared at the page.
REED & PARKER DEVELOPMENT — NOTICE OF IMMEDIATE INVESTMENT WITHDRAWAL
Twenty-seven percent of company funding.
Gone.
Arthur’s voice turned cold.
“You slept with another woman while your wife quietly became our largest silent investor.”
Dominic couldn’t breathe properly anymore.
Because now he understood the real horror.
Callie didn’t just know everything.
She had been protecting him for years.
And she finally stopped.
Vanessa arrived at the office forty minutes later wearing oversized sunglasses and panic barely hidden beneath designer makeup.
Reporters instantly surrounded her outside the building.
“Ms. Hale, are you involved in the investigation?”
“Were you aware of the offshore accounts?”
“Is it true Mr. Reed used company funds for personal travel?”
She pushed through them in silence and entered the elevator.
But upstairs, no one welcomed her anymore.
Receptionists looked away.
Assistants whispered.
People moved aside like she carried disease.
Vanessa stormed into Dominic’s office and slammed the door.
“What the hell is happening?”
Dominic sat behind his desk staring blankly at nothing.
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