Chapter 6: The Woman Who Wrote the Lines

My husband's mistress was walked out of the lobby at nine forty.

On her way past the boardroom door she stopped.

She pulled her elbow out of the officer's hand and turned her wet face to Corinne.

'You said you'd be with me,' she said.

She said it loud. The whole lobby heard it.

The receptionist heard it. The two board members by the bench heard it.

Harold pointed at the chair against the wall.

'Sit down,' he said. 'You wait there until the police are done with her.'

Corinne sat. She sat in front of Josie, with her coat still buttoned.

The receptionist turned her back and lifted her phone to her ear.

Harold raised his voice to the room.

'The vote on Mr. Marsh's seat is at four. He stays in this building until then.'

Desmond looked at the two officers by the front doors.

Then he crossed the lobby to me.

'Maren,' he said. 'Let's fix this before four.'

I said nothing. I let him talk.

'I'll withdraw the petition. Today. The shares, too, my whole stake, signed over to you before the vote.'

He kept his voice low.

'All you have to do is tell them the school made a mistake.'

I took out my phone and turned the screen to him.

The nursery head had sent the photograph. The collection slip lay flat under a desk lamp.

Josie's name sat on the mother's line, in her own careful hand.

Below it, on the release line, was Desmond's signature.

His face went grey. He put his hand out for the phone.

I pulled it back.

'No,' I said.

I walked past him to the older officer and put the phone in his palm.

'That's the collection slip from the nursery,' I said.

'The photograph is yours now. She sent it before your people took the original.'

Keep reading free with an account. Start Reborn to Destroy My Husband's Crying Mistress from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.