The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 96

CHAPTER NINETY-SIX LUCIAN’S POV

The line went dead.

I didn’t lower the phone immediately.

I could’ve sworn I heard bells go off in my ears.

Whether blood was rushing to or from my face, I couldn’t tell.

But my chest constricted in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

There was no need to ask if they were certain.

The ring, her behavior… everything was suddenly coming together.

I read the audit report again, not for the numbers this time-but for the intent behind them.

Patterns rarely revealed themselves when you stared directly at them. You had to step back and let them arrange themselves.

Transfers that didn’t raise alarms individually.

Approvals that appeared routine.

Amounts that stayed just beneath thresholds that would trigger suspicion.

Everything was done cleanly.

This wasn’t a breach. It was access. It was an inside job.

Someone hadn’t broken in. They had walked through the front door.

And Eva hadn’t done this alone.

One hundred and seventy million.

This required patience. It required planning. 1

I had never thought she was capable of something like this.

Not the scale of it.

And certainly not the discipline!

A soft knock came at the door, followed by the quiet turn of the handle before I could respond.

Eva stepped in as if my office was her dressing room.

“Your office is becoming harder to get into,” she said lightly, closing the door behind her. “Your assistants look like they’ve been put on trial.”

She didn’t seem to notice my silence.

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KNINETY SIX (UNIANS POV

Or she just didn’t give a damn.

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“I’ve been looking for you,” she continued, moving further in, her heels clicking softly against the floor. “I didn’t expect this reaction from the coverage.”

I watched her carefully now.

Not the way I had before.

Not with tolerance, or anything close to affection.

She was so polished, so… enticing. So easy for one to get lost in, until you realized that she was all shallow waters and no depth.

And now, she wasn’t just shallow and dangerously ambitious.

Now, she was also a thief.

“Yes,” I simply said, allowing her to continue.

Her lips curved, satisfied. “People can’t stop talking about us. Which is perfect because I just signed two brand deals and we need all the buzz we can get.”

Of course.

That’s all that mattered to her; positioning, fame, image.

She moved closer, setting her bag down on my table. “Speaking of timing-I had an audition this morning.”

I said nothing.

“I’m very likely to get the role,” she added, a hint of excitement buzzing through her tone. “It’s a major production. International. Six months of filming, possibly longer.”

My gaze remained on her.

Six months.

Abroad.

“I’ll need you to make a call,” she said, almost casually. “You know how these things work. I’m perfect for the role, but a recommendation from you would definitely secure it.”

There it was.

Not a request, but an expectation.

“No.” 1

My voice was low, but very clear. Uncomplicated.

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She blinked once, as if she hadn’t heard me correctly. “No?”

“I don’t make calls like that.”

Her expression shifted. “It’s not like you’d be asking for anything unreasonable.”

“I don’t incur favors I don’t intend to repay,” I replied evenly.

A brief silence followed.

Then she smiled again, though it didn’t reach her eyes this time. “You’re being rigid.”

I didn’t respond.

I was still watching her.

Before, Eva had always looked like the epitome of confidence.

Now, she looked rehearsed.

“I’ll manage it myself, then,” she said after a moment, brushing it off with a small shrug of her shoulders. “It would’ve just been easier.”

“I’m sure it would.”

She studied me then, her blue eyes narrowing carefully.

“You’re quiet,” she observed.

“I usually am.”

“Not like this.”

I let that sit between us for a few seconds before I spoke again.

“Where were you last Thursday?” I asked.

The question landed without warning.

Eva didn’t hesitate.

“I told you,” she replied smoothly. “Meetings most of the day. Then dinner.”

“With who?”

“A few people from the production side,” she answered immediately. “Why?”

I shifted slightly, picking up a pen from the desk and setting it back down again without using it.

“Who’s been handling your transfers lately?”

She paused then. Brief, but I noticed.

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NEY SIX JUCIANS POV

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“My accounts?” she asked. “My usual people. Why are you asking me all of this?”

“You’ve been busy.” I remarked, looking at her, trying to catch any cracks in her composure. There were

none.

“I always am.”

No stumble, no delay.

Her answers came too easily.

She didn’t hesitate.

That was the problem. That’s what made her so dangerous.

I held her gaze for a moment longer, then looked away first.

“Mm.”

It was dismissive, not the reaction she was expecting. But it was the only one I would give her- for now.

She straightened slightly. “If there’s something you want to say, you can say it.”

I didn’t.

Because I wasn’t interested in what she would say back.

Not yet.

Instead, I leaned back in my chair, and my tone returned to something neutral.

“You should rest.”

The way her eyes searched my face, as if trying to find something that had been there before and wasn’t anymore- my affection, my tolerance.

“I’m not tired,” she said defiantly, jutting her chin out.

But I wasn’t going to let her bait me into an argument, and reveal what I had just found out in a fit of rage.

No. I would confront Eva on my own terms.

“Then you should be.” I remarked.

Silence stretched between us, but this time, she didn’t fill it with words.

She was watching me more carefully now, trying to understand what had changed.

I didn’t give her anything to decipher.

After a moment, she picked up her bag and rose from her seat.

“Fine,” she said lightly, though I noticed she didn’t seem as free and excited as she was when she

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NINITY SA LUCIANS POV

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walked in. “I’ll let you get back to… whatever this is.”

I didn’t stop her as she walked out the door.

The room fell quiet again.

I waited a few seconds to make sure she was truly gone, then reached for the file Theo had sent earlier and pulled it closer. 1

Eva’s schedule from the past month, neatly organized- clean. Too clean.

Hospital visits, routine checkups and consultations.

Everything placed exactly where it should be.

I read through it again, slower this time, looking for what didn’t fit.

It wasn’t obvious.

But nothing here ever was.

But the more I looked at it, the less I trusted it.

And I knew she couldn’t have worked alone. She couldn’t have moved one hundred and seventy million from me, all by herself.