Chapter 13 - Emma Starts Asking Questions
The apartment no longer felt like a battlefield.
It felt like an interrogation room.
Emma sat quietly at the dining table.
Her makeup had begun to smudge from tears she kept pretending not to wipe away.
She looked exhausted.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Finally, she looked directly at me.
"May I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"When did you stop loving him?"
The question surprised everyone.
Even Mark looked at me.
I answered honestly.
"I don't know."
Emma waited.
"I know when I stopped trusting him."
"When?"
"The day I realized I checked his excuses before believing his words."
Emma looked down.
"I've started doing that."
Mark immediately interrupted.
"Emma, don't listen—"
She raised her voice for the first time.
"No!"
Everyone froze.
She stood slowly.
"I've listened to you for six months."
Her hands trembled.
"You always had explanations."
"You always had emergencies."
"You always had meetings."
She looked toward Vanessa.
"Then there was her."
Toward me.
"Before that..."
"...there was twenty years of lies."
She laughed bitterly.
"And I believed I was different."
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew she wasn't.
She reached into her handbag and removed a small silver key.
She placed it in front of Mark.
"What is this?"
He frowned.
"Our apartment key."
"No."
She shook her head.
"It was never ours."
She pushed it across the table.
"I'm keeping my own apartment."
Mark stared at her.
"You can't leave now."
She smiled sadly.
"I think that's exactly what Laura should have done years ago."
She picked up her coat.
Before reaching the door, she stopped beside me.
"I owe you an apology."
"You don't owe me anything."
"I walked into your home and treated you terribly."
"You believed someone you loved."
She nodded.
"So did you."
For the first time that evening...
We understood each other perfectly.
Emma reached for the doorknob.
But before she could open the door...
Her phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
The color drained from her face.
Mark noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
Emma looked at him in disbelief.
"It's my accountant."
The room became silent.
She answered on speaker.
A panicked voice filled the apartment.
"Emma... we've got a serious problem."
"What happened?"
"There have been unauthorized transfers from your company accounts."
Emma slowly turned toward Mark.
The accountant continued.
"The signatures match the documents you signed with Mr. Dawson."
Nobody spoke.
Emma whispered only one sentence.
May you like
"Mark..."
"...what have you done?"
