The train tore along the rails, the scenery outside the window sliding backward in a blur.
I looked at the message Lawyer Finch had sent to my phone.
【Miss Fox, that guarantee document is legally binding. But if we can prove Noah misled you into signing it through fraud, and that the money ultimately flowed into his personal account, we stand a good chance of winning.】
I replied with one word: “Okay.”
The transfer records and internal emails on the old phone were the best evidence there was.
When I reached Noah's city, I didn't go find him. I checked into a budget hotel near his company instead.
That evening, Noah called.
“Babe, did you transfer the ten grand?” There was a trace of urgency in his voice.
“Yes.” I lied without a flicker.
“Good. Jules, why have you been so cold lately? Are you still mad at me?” He started putting on the wounded act.
“No. I'm just a little tired.”
“Stop being so lifeless all the time. I'm out there grinding every single day, isn't that exhausting enough? Can't you cut me a little slack?” His tone edged into irritation.
“Fine. I'll cut you some slack.”
“Right, my mom's having a minor surgery next week. Do you have any money on your end? Send her twenty grand first.” He demanded it like it was his due.
I gripped the phone tighter.
Every month he dropped tens of thousands buying Miss Pruitt bags and jewelry, yet he expected me to pay his mother's medical bills out of my meager salary.
“I don't have any money left.” I said it calmly.
“How can you have no money? Didn't I just transfer you two hundred grand yesterday?” His voice climbed.
“Wasn't that two hundred grand used to cover the compensation payment? Did you forget?” I shot back.
The other end went quiet for a moment.
“Fine, fine, I get it. You really are getting more and more unreasonable.”
He hung up in a huff.
I looked at the screen going dark, and the corner of my mouth curved into a cold smile.
The next day, I went to the ground floor of the Pruitt company building.
Noah was now the general manager of a subsidiary under the Pruitt Group.
I sat in the café across the street and watched Noah step out of a Porsche in a sharp suit.
Miss Pruitt was on his arm, and the two of them walked into the building laughing and talking.
I took out the old phone and photographed the whole scene.
Then I opened Noah's messages and found Miss Pruitt's account.
I didn't add her. I just quietly looked through her feed.
The most recent post was a photo she'd shown off of a diamond ring and a marriage certificate.
The caption read: 【For all the days to come, it's only you.】
Underneath were Noah's like and comment: 【Babe, I'll love you for a lifetime.】
I stared at that glaring red booklet, and the last ripple in my heart went completely still.
I compiled every piece of evidence on the old phone into a single document.
It included proof he'd embezzled company funds, the debt-transfer agreement, a side-by-side of the cheap necklace he'd given me and the diamond ring he'd given Miss Pruitt, and those unspeakable chat logs of his.
I set the document to send on a timer.
The send time was fixed for noon tomorrow.
That was the auspicious hour of Noah and Miss Pruitt's grand wedding.
Once it was all done, I leaned back against the chair and let out a long breath.
