She sat at her dining room table with her laptop, three folders of documents, and a pot of coffee that went cold hours ago. Dererick was not home. He texted at 9:00 saying he had to work late. Simone did not respond. She just kept working. The first folder contained Jordan’s investigation report. Photos of Derek and Amber at restaurants, hotels, and walking hand in hand through the city park.
There were screenshots of text messages where Dererick called himself a yacht company owner. messages where he promised Amber trips to the Caribbean and Europe. Promises he planned to keep using Simone’s money. The second folder contained financial records. Simone spent 4 hours combing through credit card statements, bank transactions, and wire transfers.
She created a spreadsheet documenting every suspicious charge. Dinner at La Mer, the French restaurant downtown, $470. Derek told Simone he was meeting a client. Diamond bracelet from Cardier, $3,200. Simone never received a bracelet. Rent for apartment 4B on Riverside Drive, 2500 per month for the last 4 months, $10,000 total.
Weekend trip to Napa Valley, $6,800. Derek said he was at a consulting conference. The list went on and on. Simone calculated the total. Over the past 6 months, Dererick spent $43,000 on his affair. money from their joint account, money Simone earned. The third folder contained property documents, business incorporation papers, and the prenuptual agreement.
Patricia was right. Everything was protected. Carter Maritime Group was established 3 years before Simone met Derek. The prenup clearly stated that any business assets owned prior to marriage remain separate property. Derrick signed it without argument, probably because he never thought Simone’s little boat business would amount to anything.
At 4:00 in the morning, Simone heard the front door open. Dererick came in quietly, trying not to wake her. She heard him drop his keys on the kitchen counter, open the refrigerator, close it again. She stayed at the dining room table with the lights off, waiting. Dererick walked past without noticing her.
He went upstairs to the bedroom they shared. She heard the shower turn on. Simone closed her laptop. Tomorrow morning, she had a meeting scheduled with her accountant, her business manager, and Patricia. they would finalize the divorce filing and prepare the asset freeze. But tonight, she had one more thing to do.
She opened her phone and pulled up the security app for their home system. Dererick did not know she had cameras installed 6 months ago after a break in two streets over. Small discrete cameras and common areas, including the home office Derrick used. Simone scrolled through footage from the past week.
There 3 days ago, Derek in the office on a video call. She turned up the volume. Baby, I cannot wait to see you.” Derek was saying to someone on the screen, “This weekend is going to be perfect. I booked the best yacht in the fleet. You deserve it.” Amber’s voice came through the speakers. “You are so good to me.
I still cannot believe you own all those boats. You must be so successful.” Derek laughed. “I worked hard for it. Built the whole company from nothing, but it is worth it to see you smile.” Simone saved the video file. More evidence, more proof of his lies. She also found footage from two weeks ago. Derek in the same office on the phone, his voice angry.
I do not care what Simone thinks. He was saying she does not understand business. She just manages schedules and handles paperwork. I am the one making real money. Simone paused the video. That was a lie, too. Dererick’s consulting business brought in maybe 30,000 a year. Simone’s company pulled in over 2 million annually, but he believed his own delusions.
He convinced himself she was beneath him. The sky started to lighten outside. Dawn was coming. Simone heard Dererick get into bed upstairs. Heard the springs creek as he settled in. She stayed at the table, organizing her evidence into clear, undeniable categories: financial misuse, emotional manipulation, fraud, wasp. At 7, her alarm went off upstairs.
Derek would be waking up soon, getting ready for another day of pretending to be someone he was not. Simone went upstairs moving quietly. She grabbed clothes from her closet and dressed in the bathroom. A navy suit today. Professional, powerful. When she came out, Dererick was awake, scrolling through his phone in bed.
Morning, he said without looking up. Morning, Simone replied. I have meetings all day, Derek said. Might be late again tonight. Okay. He finally glanced at her. You look nice. Special meeting? Something like that. Dererick went back to his phone. He did not ask details. He never did. Simone left the bedroom, and went downstairs.
