Chapter 2: The Red Ledger
"You’re being unreasonable, Mark," Elena purred, leaning across the table. "I’ve given you the best years of my life. It’s time you compensated me for that." She signaled to the waiter, demanding another bottle, already counting the millions she thought were hers. She didn’t notice that Mark hadn't touched his food. She didn’t notice that he had been checking his watch every sixty seconds.
Mark finally spoke, his voice cutting through the ambient jazz like a serrated blade. "You think I didn't see you embezzling from my company, Elena? You think your digital footprint was invisible?" He produced a thin, black folder from his briefcase and slid it onto the white tablecloth. It wasn't the divorce papers she wanted. It was a breakdown of every illicit wire transfer, every shell company registration, and every falsified invoice. Elena’s face, usually composed and imperious, began to crumble. The reality of what he was saying hit her not as a suggestion, but as a mathematical certainty. She looked at the documents, her fingers trembling. "This is impossible," she whispered, the color draining from her cheeks.
