The Stranger I Married

CHAPTER 10: THE DECISION

The next morning, Alex joined Eve for breakfast on the porch.

The morning was warm, and the ranch was already alive with activity. Workers moved between the barns and stables while the distant sound of cattle carried across the fields.

Eve set her coffee down. "I need to go into Bellhaven this morning."

Alex looked up from his coffee. "Business?"

"Yes. A few things I need to take care of." She hesitated for a moment. "Would you like to come with me?"

Alex smiled. "I'd like that."

"Good." She stood. "Give me twenty minutes."

They left Silver Creek in Eve's pickup.

The road into Bellhaven passed through open countryside before gradually giving way to the outskirts of town. Alex looked through the window.

Bellhaven was a small town, a world away from the sprawling metropolis of Westbridge. Westbridge was a vast city, the kind of place where millions of people could disappear into the crowds and nobody would notice.

Bellhaven was different. There was something appealing about its slower pace, its familiar faces, and its quiet streets. It wasn't trying to impress anyone. People moved at a slower pace. There were local shops along the main street, a few cafés and restaurants, and businesses that seemed to have been there for generations.

Eve glanced at him. "You're quiet."

"I'm looking."

"At what?"

"Everything." He paused. "I'm trying to figure out what it is about this place."

She smiled. "And have you?"

"Not yet." He looked at her. "But I'm starting to understand."

She laughed softly. "You've only been here three days."

"Three very interesting days."

Eve glanced at him briefly. Neither mentioned the kiss. Neither needed to. They both remembered it.

Eve's first stop was one of the local offices she dealt with regularly. Alex waited outside while she handled her business.

He stood beside the truck, his hands in his pockets, watching people move along the street. The morning was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt like a luxury after the noise of Westbridge.

His phone rang.

He looked at the screen. His father's name.

Alex answered. "Hi, Dad."

"Alex, where are you?"

"Bellhaven."

There was a pause. "Bellhaven? Where is Bellhaven?"

"A small town a few hours out of Westbridge."

His father's voice changed. "We have a problem."

Alex straightened. "What kind of problem?"

"Wesley's report came through this morning."

Alex's expression sharpened. Wesley. The IT technician he'd placed inside the Whitmore Group two weeks ago—ostensibly testing the new VERITAS system, but really watching for signs of irregular activity.

"What did he find?"

"Discrepancies." His father paused. "Serious ones."

Alex looked toward the office where Eve had disappeared. "Go on."

"He traced several contracts and transactions Sebastian handled over the past year."

Alex said nothing.

"At first, the numbers looked like accounting irregularities. But Wesley kept digging. He used VERITAS to cross-reference purchasing records, shipping manifests, and financial transactions. The system flagged a pattern."

Alex's jaw tightened. "What pattern?"

"Money being siphoned through two companies."

"Names?"

"That's the problem. They exist on paper, but there is no actual business behind either one."

"Shelf companies."

"Exactly." His father's voice was grim. "Wesley traced the approvals. The contracts. The payments. They all point in Sebastian's direction."

Alex stared across the street. The anger was cold now. Controlled. But beneath it, something darker was building.

He had always known Sebastian was capable of dishonesty. He had never trusted him. But this was different. If the evidence held, Sebastian hadn't simply been playing games with Alex's personal life. He had been stealing from the family business.

"How much?"

"We don't know the full amount yet. Wesley's still working through the data." His father sighed. "But it's substantial enough that we need you back."

Alex looked toward the office again. "When?"

"As soon as possible."

Alex was silent. His father waited.

"When are you coming home?"

Alex looked down the street. For a moment, Westbridge seemed very far away.

"I don't know."

His father sounded surprised. "You don't know?"

"No." Alex took a slow breath. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to come back."

There was a pause. "Alex..."

"I'll call you."

His father knew better than to push him. "All right. But Alex—this is serious. Sebastian isn't just playing games anymore. He's stolen from the company. From the family."

Alex's grip tightened on the phone. "I know."

"Wesley's keeping the investigation quiet for now. But he needs direction from you."

"Tell him to keep digging. I'll be in touch."

"Be careful, son."

"I will."

Alex ended the call. He slipped the phone into his pocket and stood quietly for a moment.

Wesley had found something. Something real. Sebastian had been stealing from the family.

The investigation would still be there. The business would still be there. Sebastian would still be there.

But Alex wasn't ready to go back. Not yet.

The office door opened. Eve stepped outside.

She looked at him. "Everything all right?"

Alex nodded. "Family business."

She studied his expression but didn't press. "Do you need to go back?"

"Eventually."

"Not today?"

He looked at her. "Not today."

Eve smiled. "Good."

The word came out more softly than she intended. She looked away, but not before Alex noticed the change in her expression.

Somewhere beneath the relief, a small sinking feeling had settled in her chest. She wasn't ready for him to leave. She didn't know why. It was far too soon to feel this attached to someone she had known for only three days.

Yet the thought of Alex driving back to Westbridge suddenly felt wrong.

Alex watched her for a moment. He couldn't explain the feeling either. He knew he would have to return eventually. There were responsibilities waiting for him, a company that needed him, a family that would expect answers.

But not today. Not when staying here felt so easy. Not when leaving meant walking away from her.