Chapter 3 - The Ring with Conditions
I should have ended the engagement the moment I saw Julian’s name on the access log.
The next morning, Eleanor invited me to breakfast.
She sat beneath a portrait of Thomas Ashford, cutting a strawberry into perfect halves. “Julian tells me you’re upset about some accounting issue.”
“Money was transferred from the children’s fund without authorization.”
“Money moves around inside a company. That’s why we employ professionals.”
“My credentials were used.”
“Then perhaps you should be more careful with your passwords.” She smiled as if she had offered me a useful tip. “A wedding is stressful enough without you turning every inconvenience into a conspiracy.”
She pushed a folder across the table. It was a prenuptial agreement, thicker than the one Julian’s attorney had sent me a month earlier.
“This version protects the family,” she said. “You’ll sign before the wedding. It keeps your personal claims separate from Ashford assets.”
“I’m not asking for Ashford assets.”
“Of course not. You’re a good girl.” Her voice was soft, but her eyes were sharp. “Then signing should be easy.”
I took the folder home and read it line by line. Buried in the legal language was a clause stating that I accepted no beneficial interest in any company, trust, or estate connected to my mother’s name. It also required me to accept responsibility for any financial irregularity that could be traced to my credentials before the wedding date.
They weren’t protecting the family. They were preparing to make me pay for the theft.
When Julian came over that evening, I laid the agreement on the coffee table.
“Did you read this?”
“My mother’s lawyers drafted it.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He rubbed his jaw. “Avery, the company is under pressure. If the board thinks the foundation is unstable, hundreds of people could lose their jobs.”
“And if I sign, I could lose my freedom.”
“No one is trying to hurt you.”
“Then tell your mother to withdraw the clause.”
He looked away.
That silence hurt more than a confession.
I called her at midnight.
May you like
She answered on the first ring.
“Avery,” she said, “I was wondering how long it would take them to come for you.”
