THE WIFE HE COULDN’T KEEP

Chapter 7

Joshua Sterling stared at the report on his desk.

Three pages. Everything Philip's replacement had dug up on Bryan Taylor in forty-eight hours.

He'd expected something. A scandal. A weakness. A shadow in his past.

There was nothing.

Joshua read it again. Bryan Taylor, thirty-one. CEO of Taylor Technologies. Self-made billionaire. Started his company in his dorm room at twenty-two. Built it into a tech empire worth billions. No inheritance. No connections.

He'd never been married. No children. No scandals. No arrests. His reputation was spotless. He donated to charities. Mentored young entrepreneurs.

He was completely clean.

Joshua slammed the report down. His hands were shaking.

How can he be clean? Everyone has secrets.

But Bryan Taylor didn't. He was exactly who he appeared to be. A good man. A successful man. A man who had never hurt anyone.

A man getting close to Stella.

Joshua picked up his phone. "I need more. There has to be something."

"Sir, I've checked everything. The man is clean. He's never even had a parking ticket."

"Then find something else. Someone in his past. Someone who hates him."

The investigator hesitated. "Sir, sometimes people are just... good."

Joshua ended the call.

He sat in his office, staring at the report. The sun was setting outside his window. He'd been here all day. Canceled meetings. Ignored calls.

Bryan Taylor hadn't done anything wrong. He'd just been there. At the park. With Stella. With his children.

Joshua closed his eyes. The image was burned into his memory. Stella laughing. Her hand on Bryan's arm. The children clamoring around him.

That should have been me.

He opened his eyes. His reflection stared back at him from the dark window. Haggard. Desperate. Consumed.

He was becoming the villain. He knew it. But he couldn't stop.

He couldn't destroy Bryan through scandal. That left only one option. Destroy Bryan through Stella.

He leaned back. He needed a plan. A way to get close to Stella. A way to remind her of what they'd had.

He didn't know how yet. But he would find a way.

She deserves someone who doesn't make her feel like she's not enough.

The thought came unbidden. Unwelcome. He pushed it away.

He didn't have time for guilt.

He picked up his phone and dialed Stella's number. Blocked. She wouldn't answer.

But he left a voicemail.

"Stella. It's me. I know you don't want to talk to me. I know you've moved on. But you deserve to know the truth. About who framed you. About what really happened six years ago. I'm going to find out the truth. For you. For our children. And when I do, I hope you'll finally hear me out."

He ended the call. She'd delete it without hearing a word.

But he'd said it anyway.

***

The next morning, Joshua arrived before sunrise.

He couldn't sleep anymore. The guilt, the jealousy, the desperation. He'd spent the night pacing, replaying every moment of his marriage. Every time he'd dismissed Stella. Every time he'd made her feel small. Every time he'd chosen pride over love.

He'd been a monster. A woman who loved him. A woman carrying his children. And he'd thrown her away.

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

He pulled out a folder he'd kept for years. The original evidence. The photographs. The phone records.

He'd never looked at it closely. He'd believed what he wanted to believe.

But now he looked.

He studied the photographs. Stella at the café. Stella at the hotel lobby.

He looked closer. The lighting was wrong. The shadows didn't match.

Joshua pulled out a magnifying glass. The edges were blurred. The colors were slightly off. The image had been manipulated.

His blood ran cold.

He pulled out another photograph. The same problem. The same blurred edges. The same manipulated lighting.

His hands shook. He pulled out the phone records. The timestamps didn't match. The records had been altered.

Someone had framed his wife. Someone had deliberately destroyed his marriage.

And he'd fallen for it completely.

Joshua sank into his chair. Who had done this? Who had access to his home? His office? His private investigator?

The list was long. A business rival. A jealous ex. Someone on his own staff.

But whoever it was, they'd been careful. They'd covered their tracks.

Joshua dialed his investigator.

"I need you to look into the evidence from six years ago. The photographs. The phone records. Someone doctored them. Someone framed Stella Hayes. I need to know who."

"Sir, this is going to be complicated. Six years is a long time. Evidence gets lost. Witnesses forget."

"I don't care how long it takes. Find out who did this."

"Understood."

Joshua ended the call. He stared at the photographs on his desk.

He would find out who did this. He would expose them. He would make them pay.

And then maybe, just maybe, Stella would forgive him.

***

Across the city, Stella Hayes was getting ready for her day.

She'd slept well for the first time in weeks. The children were healthy. Her empire was thriving. And she had a date tonight.

With Bryan Taylor.

She smiled at her reflection. She hadn't felt like this in years. Excited. Hopeful. Nervous.

Bryan had asked her to dinner. Just the two of them. No children. No distractions.

She'd said yes.

Now she stood in front of her closet, trying to choose an outfit. She wanted to look beautiful. Confident. Like a woman who had moved on.

Because she had moved on. She'd built a life without Joshua. Raised three children alone. Become a billionaire.

But she was also lonely.

Six years of loneliness. She'd filled the emptiness with work, with her children, with her empire. But it was still there. The longing for someone to come home to. The desire to be held. The need to be seen.

Maybe Bryan could be that person.

Stella pulled out a red dress. Elegant. Sophisticated. Beautiful.

She smiled. This was the dress.

She put it on and looked at her reflection. The Ice Queen was gone. In her place was a woman ready to fall in love again.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Bryan.

I can't wait to see you tonight. 8 PM at The Celeste. Private balcony.

Stella's heart fluttered. The Celeste. Her hotel. He'd chosen her territory.

She typed back: I'll be there.

She set down her phone and looked at her reflection one more time.

Tonight was a new beginning.

She didn't see the voicemail from Joshua. She didn't even know it existed.

She'd blocked his number. His messages went straight to a folder she never opened. A folder she'd forgotten existed.

In that folder, a voicemail was waiting for her. A voicemail from Joshua Sterling.

But she didn't see it. She didn't hear it. She was too busy getting ready for her date.

And so the truth remained hidden. For now.