Chapter 2: Brandon Finally Learned Who Had Been Watching Him
Chapter 2: Brandon Finally Learned Who Had Been Watching Him
Brandon’s phone rang again.
This time, he didn’t answer immediately.
He just stared at the screen.
The color had completely drained from his face.
Lauren stood beside him.
“Brandon?”
He swallowed.
“Give me a second.”
The people around the pool had started noticing.
A few conversations stopped.
Someone turned down the music.
Even the laughter from the patio seemed to disappear.
I remained where I was, holding my drink.
I didn’t say anything.
Brandon finally answered.
“Hello?”
The voice on the other end was loud enough that I could hear a faint fragment of it from where I stood.
Brandon’s eyes widened.
“No.”
He looked toward me.
“That can’t be right.”
Another pause.
Then:
“You checked the authorization?”
He listened.
His expression became even worse.
“Who gave you that name?”
Another pause.
Brandon slowly lowered the phone.
He looked at Lauren.
Then at me.
“Noah…”
I raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You knew?”
“Knew what?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked several steps away from everyone else.
Lauren followed him.
“What is going on?”
Brandon turned toward her.
“Your husband.”
Lauren frowned.
“What about him?”
“He’s not who you think he is.”
I almost laughed.
That was rich.
After spending the last hour publicly humiliating me, Brandon suddenly wanted to talk about who I really was.
Lauren looked back at me.
“Noah, what did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why is Brandon acting like this?”
“Ask him.”
Brandon stared at me.
“You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
He walked toward me.
For a second, I thought he might finally try to explain himself.
Instead, he lowered his voice.
“Where did you get the authority to freeze the account?”
Lauren looked confused.
“What account?”
Brandon immediately realized he’d said too much.
I took a slow sip of my drink.
“The account you just heard about.”
His jaw tightened.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t play games with me.”
I smiled.
“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”
Lauren stepped between us.
“Someone please tell me what is happening.”
Brandon looked at her.
Then at me.
Finally, he said:
“Noah had my business account frozen.”
Lauren stared at me.
“You did that?”
“No.”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed.
“The bank says the authorization came from you.”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t freeze anything.”
“Then someone used your authorization.”
That sentence changed the atmosphere completely.
Lauren looked between us.
“Why would someone do that?”
Neither of us answered.
Brandon’s phone rang again.
He looked at the screen.
This time, he didn’t answer.
He simply turned it face down.
I noticed the name.
MARCUS HAYES.
I hadn’t heard that name in years.
But Brandon had.
I could tell from his reaction.
“Who’s Marcus?” Lauren asked.
Brandon ignored her.
I looked at him.
“You should take the call.”
His eyes met mine.
“You know him?”
“I know of him.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I shrugged.
“You didn’t ask a question.”
Lauren looked increasingly frustrated.
“Stop talking around each other.”
Brandon suddenly grabbed my arm.
I pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.”
He immediately released me.
His voice dropped.
“What did you tell Marcus?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did he call me?”
“Maybe because he has something to say.”
Brandon stared at me.
Then he stepped closer.
“You think this is funny?”
“No.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because ten minutes ago you were making jokes about me in front of everyone.”
His face hardened.
“And now?”
“Now you’re worried.”
He didn’t respond.
I turned toward Lauren.
“I think I’m going home.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Because of this?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I finally realized I don’t have to stay somewhere I’m being disrespected.”
Lauren’s mouth opened.
For once, she had nothing to say.
I picked up my keys from the table.
Then Brandon spoke.
“Wait.”
I stopped.
He was staring at me differently now.
Not mocking.
Not amused.
Afraid.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you know about the audit?”
I didn’t answer.
His face tightened.
“The audit next month.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know about that?”
“Because my lawyer told me.”
“Then you already know.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“My lawyer said the audit was confidential.”
I felt something shift inside me.
“Then someone leaked it.”
Brandon looked at Lauren.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
She crossed her arms.
“Afraid of what?”
Brandon took a breath.
“Someone has been investigating me.”
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“Noah.”
I remained silent.
Brandon continued.
“Three weeks ago, an investigator showed up at my office.”
Lauren frowned.
“Why?”
“He asked about a company I used to work with.”
“What company?”
Brandon hesitated.
Then he said the name.
“Redwood Holdings.”
My stomach tightened.
Lauren didn’t recognize it.
But I did.
I had spent six months working with Redwood Holdings years earlier.
Before I met Lauren.
Before Brandon became my friend.
Before any of this.
Brandon saw my expression.
“You know it.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I used to work with them.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I looked at him.
“What are you trying to say?”
He stepped closer.
“The investigator asked about you.”
Lauren stared at me.
“About Noah?”
Brandon nodded.
“He wanted to know whether I still had contact with you.”
I felt my pulse rise.
“When was this?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Who sent him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you give him my name?”
Brandon looked away.
That was answer enough.
Lauren turned toward him.
“You gave someone information about my husband?”
“I didn’t know why he wanted it.”
“And you never told Noah?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Of course you didn’t.”
Brandon’s phone rang again.
He finally answered.
This time, his expression changed immediately.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked directly at me.
“No.”
Another pause.
His voice became barely audible.
“That’s not possible.”
He ended the call.
Lauren grabbed his arm.
“What happened?”
Brandon looked at her.
“The bank found another authorization.”
“From Noah?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Brandon looked at me.
“Your name.”
Lauren went completely still.
“What?”
“The authorization was submitted under Lauren’s name.”
Her face went pale.
“I never signed anything.”
“I know.”
“Then someone forged it.”
Brandon nodded.
“And they didn’t just freeze my account.”
He looked at me.
“They transferred everything.”
“How much?”
Brandon swallowed.
“All of it.”
The party had gone completely silent.
Nobody was laughing anymore.
I looked at Lauren.
She was staring at me.
“What does this have to do with you?”
“I don’t know.”
But deep down, I already had a suspicion.
Someone had used my name.
Now they had used Lauren’s.
And Brandon had just confirmed that someone had been investigating all three of us.
I turned toward the driveway.
A black sedan was parked across the street.
It hadn’t been there when I arrived.
The driver’s window slowly lowered.
A man looked directly at me.
Then he raised his phone.
Mine buzzed.
One message.
You shouldn’t have walked away, Noah.
I looked back at Brandon.
He had seen the message appear.
His face went pale.
“You got one too?”
I nodded.
He pulled out his phone.
A message was already waiting.
Tell Noah what happened in Dallas.
Brandon stared at the screen.
I looked at him.
“What happened in Dallas?”
He didn’t answer.
Lauren looked between us.
“Brandon?”
He finally raised his eyes.
And for the first time all afternoon, I saw genuine fear in them.
“Your husband wasn’t supposed to remember Dallas.”
I felt a chill run through me.
Because I did remember it.
Just not the way Brandon thought I did.
And the last person who had mentioned Dallas to me had been dead for six years.
