Page 37 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“What about the other stuff?” Emily pressed.

Gabriel frowned; confusion etched across his face. “What other stuff?” he asked.

“I know you didn’t get the promotion,” Emily said, her voice tinged with concern. “I know about the missing money from our accounts.”

Gabriel jumped to his feet, grabbing his head with both hands and starting to pace. “What the hell, Em? Are you having Roman investigate me now?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Emily snapped, her tone cutting through the tension.

They paused as Hunter walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of Gatorade. Once he left, the air grew thick again. Emily shook her head in disbelief. “Unbelievable.”

“What? “Gabriel asked, bewildered.

“Did he even notice or care that I was gone?” Emily demanded.

“I didn’t want them to worry,” Gabriel explained. “I told them you were still out of town.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “They’d be happy if I never came home.”

“That’s not true,” Gabriel said, though his voice betrayed the lie.

“What happened to our money, Gabriel?”

Gabriel sank into his seat at the table and let out a long sigh. “I had a mishap at work. The client filed a lawsuit against me. I had to settle it out of pocket, or I risked losing my job,” he confessed.

Emily looked at him skeptically. “There’s insurance to cover that,” she said, clearly unconvinced.

“It wasn’t covered under insurance.”

Emily felt a sickening knot form in the pit of her stomach. She already suspected the truth but needed to hear it from him. “What were the allegations?” she asked, dreading the answer.

Gabriel looked down, unable to meet her eyes. “Sexual misconduct,” he said quietly.

“How much?” Emily demanded, her voice tense.

Gabriel remained silent, avoiding her gaze.

She yelled, “How much? How much did you pay her?”

“Six hundred fifty thousand,” he finally muttered.

Staring at him with a mix of disgust and disbelief, Emily knew there was so much more they needed to discuss—like the fact that a woman was claiming to be carrying his baby and blackmailing her—but at that moment, she couldn’t stand the sight of him. She stood up and said coldly, “I’m going to bed,” before walking away.

Gabriel had never seen her so furious. He knew better than to follow her. Instead, he headed to the living room and poured himself a glass of whiskey, the weight of his lies pressing heavily on his shoulders.

20

Detective Martin strolled into police headquarters and headed straight for Detective Johnson’s desk. Holding a tape aloft, he flashed a triumphant grin.

“Guess what I got?” he announced.

Detective Johnson tore his gaze from the computer screen. “Is that the tape from the Ritz-Carlton?”

Martin nodded, his smile widening. “It sure is. I’m about to watch it now. Care to join me?”

“Absolutely,” Detective Johnson said, getting up from his desk. “Maybe now we’ll get some answers,” he said, following Detective Martin into the media room.

Detective Martin inserted the tape into the video player, and the monitor flickered to life, displaying six split screens showing various locations within the hotel. He quickly fast-forwarded to 7:30 PM, when Emily had mentioned they arrived at the hotel. Stepping back, he intently watched the unfolding footage.

---