Page 26 of Promised to the Demon King (The Demon Brides #1)

Carol hadn't seen her husband, Timothy, much over the past two and a half weeks since Nova left with his brother, Allister.

If he wasn't holding up and hiding away in his private office, he was out of the house. She couldn’t tell you where he was, however. There was no longer any form of communication. Timothy had become reclusive and withdrawn from everything around him. His sole focus was figuring out where the money went. He was becoming a man obsessed with chasing ghosts. There was no way for him to track the money; Carol made sure of that. Nothing was tied to her, and the man hired has literally disappeared.

Carol gripped her cell phone and dialed the number to Patricia. She was the senior account manager at Carter Construction, but above that, she was a close friend to Carol. Carol made fast friends with many of the management employees within Timothy's company.

She always kept close tabs on everything he did, inside and outside the office. She would never allow herself to be replaced as Mrs. Timothy Carter. That would only be her title until it no longer benefited her. Which-- was getting closer and closer to the time for Carol to severe the strings that bind them. The marriage was becoming a sinking ship for Carol and she needed her way out.

"Carol?" Patricia asked in hushed tones. "I can't really talk right now," she followed in a rushed tone.

"Wait, Patty. What's going on? Timothy has not been himself lately." Carol played the concerned and depressed wife role well. "Please, Patty. What's going on?"

A sigh was heard from the other end of the call, followed by a pause of contemplative silence.

"Carol, Timothy has been unseated as CEO." Carol gasped at Patricia's words.

"What? When did this happen? Why didn’t anyone tell me?"

"A few weeks ago. Timothy's younger brother, Allister, had temporarily taken over and turned this place upside down. There is a lot about Timothy coming out now. I am sorry to be the one to break this to you."

"What do you mean a lot coming out? I don't understand." Carol whimpered slightly.

"Timothy authorized a hundred thousand dollars from the company. Timothy has proved proof that he couldn't have done this, and to be honest, it all probably would have been explainable if it was for Allister Carter. The deeper that man dug, the more disturbing information came forward. It apparently wasn't the first time. This was the highest amount and hadn't been returned in time." Carol froze at Patricia's words.

'No!' she thought to herself. That's not possible. She always put it all back before it was ever noticed. She mentally slapped her forehead, of course this would require a thorough investigation of all financial reports associated with Timothy. They would see the numerous times that Carol retracted small sums of money under his authorization number, and see it was always returned within two days. This could now be tied to Carol if she didn’t act quickly.

"Are they sure? How is this even possible?"

"Carol, I'm not sure I should say anything more. I've already risked my job here telling you all of this. Allister Carter is doing a full audit, and many people are scared. I am one of them. I've signed off on a lot of money for Timothy Carter; what if I am now listed as an accessory to embezzlement. Many of these withdrawals I don't even remember doing. It's strange. This place is slowly becomes a living Hell with Allister Carter and his assistant, Thomas." Patricia voiced her concern.

"Please, Patty. We've been friends for years now. I need you to be honest with me. No one else is telling me anything."

Another sigh comes from Patricia. "It has also been discovered that Timothy may have been having several office affairs with several women. A few have disclosed that keeping their jobs at the company was a form of extortion. Apparently, Timothy threatened to blacklist many of them if they ever told anyone. I am really sorry, Carol. It is still undetermined if these claims are genuine or women looking for a quick payout from someone already in hot water. Don’t lose hope" Patricia tried to sound confident for her friend.

"What! That's not true. Timothy would never--" Carol started to shout.

"There is proof gathered of it. Again, it still needs to be substantiated but in the mean time, Timothy has been permanently removed from the company. An official statement has been emailed, informing the board members and upper management that he would not be reinstated. They've been holding meetings all week. They have a cousin named Phillip Carter. It is rumored that he will most likely take over the company once the investigation is finalized."

"Wait, Phillip? From Seattle?"

"Yes, that is the one. He is rumored to be arriving in a week."

"That's interesting. Timothy hasn't told me any of this," Carol started to say over the phone. Patricia felt sorry for Carol as a fellow married woman, not only to discover her husband had been fired while being actively investigated for a crime but also to learn about the potential of multiple affairs coming to light. It couldn't have been easy to hear.

"Carol, I'm really sorry. Are you going to be okay?" Patricia asked in a sympathetic tone that Carol was driving for.

Carol sniffled with grief. "I just didn't see any of this coming. I would have stood by him through all of this if not for the affairs. You say that there is proof?"

"Yes, pictures and text messages as recent as a few weeks ago, and that was one of my junior accountants. She had recently resigned from the company after it was leaked. She tried to deny the accuracy, but somehow it was leaked under her name and people believe it was a real affair. Her resigning makes sense for the drama around the office is excessive, but it only looks more guiltier. Now others are using the same process to claim that they too, have become victims of Timothy’s advances."

Carol sniffled again, and a crazy thought struck her. A sinister gleam flashed in her eyes.

"Patty, I need a favour."

"What is it?" Patricia whispered cautiously.

"I need you to collect copies of the evidence for me."

"W-what? I could lose my job, Carol. It is an ongoing investigation. It is bad enough that I gave you access to my office in the past, and now I am being investigated. Carol, you didn't do anything with my accounts, right?" Patricia was tentative. She hoped it wasn't her friend who caused her name to circulate.

"Of course not. I only checked my emails a few times. You weren't using the office; it's nothing to worry about." Carol quickly defended herself. Her performance was brilliantly presented. "Patty, I can't stay with him. Not if he is making a mockery of our marriage with these affairs. As my friend, you need to understand. What would you do if this was you? You wouldn't want to stay with Joe, and I would help you without hesitation. How many years have we been friends, Patty?"

There was a pause in the phone call. Carol was starting to wonder if Patty had hung up or muted the call; it was too quiet.

Patricia sighed. Carol could hear her moving around through the phone. Clearly, Patricia was uncomfortable with this request.

"I'm sorry, Carol, but I can't do that for you. I can be there as a friend, but I can't risk my job. I have to go. I'll message you later. Okay? I'm sorry, Carol. Bye."

The call ended without another word, but Carol smiled cruelly as she stared down at the phone in her hands.

She couldn't gain access to Jonathon's wealth.

Fine.

She couldn't reach Nova to acquire the inheritance.

Fine.

She couldn't divorce Timothy and gain financial reward-- unless infidelity could be proven. That was the only stipulation within the prenup.

Fine.

Carol would prove it, then.

Patricia thought she could turn Carol down, and then the topic would be dropped, but Patricia seemed to have forgotten that Carol was a vault of secrets-- her own and those around her. You can’t stop a snake in the grass from striking once your back is turned. Patricia failed to see that she was friends with a viper but was prepared to strike.

Patricia has secrets—big secrets—secrets that even her husband, Joe, was unaware of, and Carol planned to extort or expose them.

She would never accept no; Patricia should have complied when asked nicely. Carol doesn't ask twice.

This was her golden ticket to wealth. It wasn't the original plan but a great Plan B.