THE WIFE HE COULDN’T KEEP

Chapter 4

Joshua Sterling had not slept.

He arrived at his office at 6:00 AM. Before any of his staff. The building was silent.

He poured himself a whiskey. Too early. He didn't care.

He stared at his phone.

He didn't have her number. He didn't have her email. He didn't have anything.

She'd vanished six years ago and left no trace.

Until last night.

Joshua picked up his office phone and dialed a number he hadn't used in years.

"Philip Webb."

"Philip, it's Joshua Sterling. I need you."

There was a pause. Philip Webb was the best private investigator in the country. Discreet. Ruthless. Utterly loyal to Joshua's family.

"Joshua." Philip's voice was careful. "It's been a while. What do you need?"

"Stella Hayes."

Another pause. Longer this time.

"Your ex-wife?"

"Yes." Joshua's jaw tightened. "I saw her last night. She's here. She owns the Celeste."

"I'm aware." Philip's tone was neutral. "She's made quite a name for herself. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Everything." Joshua leaned forward. "Where she's been for the last six years. How she built this empire. Who helped her. Where she lives. Everything, Philip."

"I'll see what I can find."

"How long?"

"Give me forty-eight hours."

Joshua hung up and spent the next two days in a fog of impatience.

He canceled meetings. He ignored calls. He sat in his office, staring at the door.

At 4:00 PM on the second day, Philip arrived.

He carried a leather folder. He set it on Joshua's desk and sat down.

"You're not going to like what I found," Philip said.

Joshua's heart slammed against his ribs. "Tell me."

Philip opened the folder. "Stella Hayes resurfaced three years ago. She purchased a failing hotel chain. Five properties. Deep in debt. Within eighteen months, she'd turned it into a luxury brand. Now she owns seventeen hotels across the country. The Hayes Hotel Group."

Joshua blinked. "Hayes."

"She kept her maiden name," Philip said. "She didn't use Sterling anywhere in her business. It's all Hayes."

Joshua swallowed hard. She'd erased him completely.

"What about before she resurfaced?" Joshua asked. "Where was she for the first three years?"

Philip's expression didn't change. "That's the problem. There's nothing."

Joshua frowned. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"I mean nothing." Philip slid a photograph across the desk. "This is the first image I could find of her after the divorce. It's from three years ago. Before that, no credit cards. No rental agreements. No employment records. No social media. No sightings. She completely disappeared for three years."

Joshua stared at the photograph. Stella in a business suit, shaking hands with a banker. Her face was thinner. Sharper. Her eyes were harder.

"Three years," Joshua repeated. "That's impossible."

"People with money and connections do it." Philip leaned back. "She had help, Joshua. Someone with resources made her disappear. And whoever it was, they're still protecting her. Every attempt I made to dig deeper hit a wall. Lawyers. NDAs. Private security. She's locked down tight."

Joshua's hands clenched into fists. "Who helped her?"

"I don't know yet." Philip pulled out another file. "Here's what I do know. She built her empire from nothing. No investors. No loans. No inheritance. She started with a single property. A rundown motel. And flipped it. Then another. Then another. She's brilliant, Joshua. Ruthless. She made her own luck."

Joshua felt a strange mix of pride and guilt.

"Anything else?" he asked.

Philip hesitated. A small hesitation. Barely a second.

"What?" Joshua demanded. "What aren't you telling me?"

Philip met his eyes. "I told you. Everything I found is in the file."

Joshua stared at him. Something was off. Philip was holding back.

"Philip." His voice was cold steel. "If you're keeping something from me"

"I'm not." Philip stood, gathering his files. "But I'll say this, Joshua. Whatever you think you're doing. Finding her. Talking to her. Be careful. She's not the woman you married. She's built a fortress around herself. And she's been waiting for someone like you to show up at the gate."

Joshua rose. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Philip paused at the door. "It means she's prepared for you. She's been prepared for six years. Whatever you're planning, she's already thought of it. And she's two steps ahead."

He left.

Joshua stood in the middle of his office. His mind was reeling.

Stella was prepared for him. She'd been waiting. She'd built an empire. Surrounded herself with lawyers and security. Vanished without a trace.

And Philip knew something he wasn't telling.

Joshua picked up his phone and dialed Philip's number.

"Philip."

"I'm driving."

"I don't care. I need to know what you're hiding."

A long silence. Then Philip's voice, careful and measured. "I'm not hiding anything, Joshua. I'm protecting a client."

"I'm your client."

"Not anymore." The line went dead.

Joshua stared at his phone. Philip had fired him. The man who'd worked for his family for fifteen years had just cut him loose.

She's been waiting for you.

Joshua sank into his chair. His heart was pounding.

She'd gotten to Philip. She'd turned his own investigator against him.

Stella Hayes had been playing chess while he'd been stumbling around in the dark.

And she was winning.