đź“– His Favorite Mistake
Chapter 5: The Lies We Inherit
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Zara sat stiffly in the back of the black SUV, flanked by two officers in plain suits. The city rushed by the windows, but her mind barely registered it. Her heart was hammering too loud.
"Where are we going again?" she asked, trying to sound calm.
"To a secure location," the man beside her said without emotion. "You're not under arrest, Mrs. Hall. This is just a formal questioning."
She winced. Mrs. Hall. The name felt like a joke.
They thought she was married. Really married.
When the SUV pulled into a private government facility, Zara was led into a sterile-looking room with a long table. The blinds were shut. The cameras were obvious.
"Take a seat," the agent said, opening a file.
She sat.
"We're investigating certain financial activities tied to your father's legacy," he began, sliding a document across the table. "Particularly shell companies connected to Voss Corp."
Zara's eyes scanned the papers—accounts she'd never seen, names she didn't recognize.
"I don't know anything about this," she said. "I've only recently started going through my father's files."
"That's precisely why we're talking to you now. Because someone tried to delete those files two nights ago."
Her stomach dropped. "What?"
"Yes. Someone accessed the main server room at Voss Corp at 2:13 a.m. and initiated a partial wipe. They didn't finish."
Zara leaned back, shaken. "It wasn't me."
"We don't think it was. But we're curious who might benefit from covering your father's tracks. You live with the CEO now."
Her jaw tightened. "Xander didn't marry me for love. He married me for revenge."
The man raised a brow.
"Long story," she muttered.
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Back at the penthouse, Zara burst through the door, fuming.
Xander looked up from the kitchen, brows raised. "Rough morning, sweetheart?"
"Don't," she snapped, throwing her bag onto the couch. "I was picked up by Internal Affairs."
That got his attention. "What?"
"They think there's embezzlement tied to my father's name. They showed me offshore accounts and claimed someone tried to delete the evidence."
Xander straightened, his tone sharp. "Did they say who?"
"They think it was you."
He stared at her, expression unreadable. "Did you think it was me?"
Zara hesitated. "I don't know. You have motive."
He smirked, bitter. "Right. Always the villain in your story."
"I'm trying to make sense of this!" she said, frustrated. "I didn't know about these accounts. I didn't know he was sending money to Raina's mother either!"
Xander looked at her then, really looked. "Maybe we both didn't know the man as well as we thought."
A beat passed.
"Or maybe someone else is playing both of us," she added quietly.
He narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"
Zara crossed her arms. "Meaning this feels bigger than just revenge. Bigger than our mess. Someone out there wants all of this buried—for good."
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Later that night, she couldn't sleep.
Again.
Not because of Xander. He wasn't even home. He hadn't come back after she'd stormed off from the living room. Probably at some meeting. Or hiding more secrets.
Instead, Zara sat on the floor in front of her father's old safe—one she'd had moved to the penthouse before the mansion was sold off.
She turned the dial slowly.
Her birthday.
It clicked open.
Inside were things he hadn't destroyed.
A photo of a woman she assumed was Raina, standing with a baby in her arms.
A document stamped in red: CONFIDENTIAL GUARDIANSHIP AGREEMENT.
And a tiny, locked box.
She picked it up.
On the lid, engraved faintly in silver: For Clara.
She turned it over.
No key.
No idea what was inside.
And yet, her gut said—whatever this was, it mattered.
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The next morning, she entered her office at Voss Corp to find a letter waiting for her.
Just a white envelope. No name. No logo.
Inside was a single typed sentence:
> "If you want to know who really started this war, meet me at room 703. Midnight. Come alone."
Zara's fingers trembled as she folded the note back in place.
She looked around.
Someone was watching.
Someone inside the company.
And suddenly… she wasn't sure if she could trust anyone.
Not Xander.
Not the Board.
Not even the truth she thought she knew.
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🌀 To Be Continued...
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🔍 Chapter 5 Highlights Recap:
Zara is questioned by Internal Affairs; her fake marriage puts her in danger.
Secret accounts tied to her father raise questions—and someone tried to delete the evidence.
Zara and Xander clash again, mistrust rising.
She discovers a locked box meant for Clara (Raina's mother) inside her father's safe.
A mysterious note warns her to meet a stranger at midnight to uncover the truth.