The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 149

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE MARGOT’S POV

The offices of Sinclair & Co. were almost empty by the time I finally looked up from the files again.

The city beyond the glass walls now looked like nothing more than scattered lights and moving shadows. The streets below were quieter now than they had been hours ago.

Most of the associates and employees had already gone home. The remaining few moved through the halls softly, exhausted enough not to disturb anyone else still working.

My desk, however, looked worse than ever.

Files were spread open, notes layered over each other.

Highlighted timelines, medical records and transcripts.

Claire’s name appeared across too many pages.

Eva Sterling’s appeared across even more.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, rubbing at the bridge of my nose before my gaze settled once again on the copy of the infertility report sitting closest to me.

Eva’s real report.

Not Claire’s.

The moment I touched this case, it stopped being suspicion.

Now it was evidence.

And evidence changed everything.

I reached for my phone and dialed the investigator who had been assigned to investigate the collapse at

the Dhark estate.

The line connected after three rings.

“Sinclair,” I said immediately. “I want an update.”

At first, he paused.

Then he answered with a familiar, careful tone, “We’ve reviewed the contractor statements again. Nothing new has surfaced.”

Of course it hadn’t.

“What about the maintenance logs?”

“We’re still waiting for—”

“You’ve been waiting for sometime now.” I snapped.

1/6

MUNDGLY ANDYFORTY NINE APARCANESAW

+25 Bonus

Silence.

I leaned back slightly in my seat.

“A structure collapsed during a high-profile event,” I said evenly. “A woman was seriously injured. And somehow this investigation has managed to stall itself into irrelevance.”

“I can assure you that that’s not what’s happening.”

“No?” I asked calmly. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks very much like everyone involved would prefer this disappear quietly.”

Another pause stretched across the line.

I already knew what this was.

It wasn’t direct corruption.

No, it was something much worse.

Fear.

The Dhark name carried weight even when Lucian Dhark wasn’t speaking.

No investigator wanted to mishandle a case connected to one of the most powerful families in the

country.

No department wanted media scrutiny if things escalated publicly and led nowhere.

So the easier path was hesitation and delay.

Or as I would prefer to call it; incompetence disguised as procedure.

“A woman nearly died,” I stated coldly.

“We understand that.”

“No,” I corrected quietly. “You understand liability.”

I picked up my pen again, tapping it against the desk. “I understand intent.”

That silence told me enough.

They simply weren’t pushing hard enough.

Which meant I would have to press even harder. 1

“I want the access logs reviewed again,” I continued. “Every vendor, every employee, every temporary worker who entered the property that week.”

“We already checked-”

2/6

INDRED AND FORTY NINE MARUOTS POV

+25 Bonus

“Check again.” I insisted, my tone sharpening just slightly.

“And I want the contractor interviews reopened.”

“That’s going to be difficult.”

“Do it anyway.”

Another silence- reluctant this time.

“I’ll see what we can do.” He finally said.

And I knew what he would do: nothing. Unless pressured repeatedly.

I ended the call before the frustration could settle too deeply and make me snap at him.

My gaze drifted back toward Claire’s file. And for a moment, I simply stared at it.

Claire still thought the worst thing Eva Sterling had done was ruin her marriage.

She had no idea how much darker this was becoming.

And if I told her now… everything would fracture again.

The trial verdict was close. Her career was finally rising exactly the way it should have years ago.

For the first time since the divorce, people were looking at Claire Moreau and seeing brilliance before

scandal.

I wasn’t going to risk destabilizing that now.

Not when we finally had leverage against Eva.

Not when Claire was finally building something untouched by Lucian Dhark.

I gathered the remaining files carefully before slipping them into my handbag along with my laptop and the recorder copy from Dr. Ramon’s confession.

For the first time, Eva Sterling was vulnerable.

I finally had something that could be used against her in court- something that could prove her guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

The thought stayed with me as I finally stepped out of my office.

The floor I was in was nearly deserted.

Too quiet.

But again, working hours were long over.

I moved toward the elevators, my heels clicking softly against polished floors.

3/6

AL

+25 Bonus

The security desk downstairs was unattended when I passed through the lobby.

Unusual, but nothing to fuss over.

The night guard usually never left the front entrance empty.

I noticed it.

Dismissed it.

Outside, the parking garage felt unusually still.

No engines, no movement.

Again, I noticed it.

And again, I dismissed it.

Paranoia was useful in litigation.

Less useful everywhere else- especially parking garages.

I unlocked my car and slid inside, exhausted after the long day, setting my bag onto the passenger seat before starting the engine.

The drive began normally enough.

Streetlights glowed softly across the windshield as I pulled into the road, my thoughts already returning

to strategy.

Virex would escalate after the next hearing.

Victoria certainly would.

Claire needed to be ready for that.

And afterward-after the verdict-I would finally tell her everything.

The truth about the report.

About Eva.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify