CHAPTER 3
The next day, Nina had a full shift at the charity center. She had been volunteering there for years. Perhaps it was her way of atoning for her past.
It was a children’s center for kids from troubled families, for those temporarily without parents, and for those who simply needed care and attention. Nina came here every week, spent time with them, organized creative activities, read books. She liked feeling useful.
At the entrance, she ran into Stella Reed, the wife of a city councilman.
Stella was carefully building her public image, playing the role of the caring, compassionate wife of a future mayoral candidate.
Everyone here adored her, though Nina was almost certain that once the campaign was over, Stella would vanish without a trace.
"Nina, darling, I'm so happy to see you," Stella said warmly, kissing her on the cheek.
Nina smiled back. Putting her prejudice aside, Stella wasn’t such a bad person.
“How was your weekend?” Nina asked as they walked toward the playroom. Just small talk, to keep the conversation going. But at her words, Stella’s eyes flashed with sudden irritation.
“Can you imagine? Yesterday Mr. Black threw a party and rented out the entire golf club,” she rolled her eyes and waved her hand irritably. “I was just about to go play golf, and they wouldn’t let me in. Can you believe that?”
Nina stopped abruptly. Her heart skipped a beat.
“Wait. What do you mean they wouldn’t let you in?” she asked, barely keeping her voice steady.
“They closed the club for a private event. And I pay an enormous membership fee every month. They had no right,” Stella snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
Frank’s words from the night before flashed through Nina’s mind.
“We were out of town, playing golf…”
And then that cursed receipt from his jacket flashed before her eyes.
“But my husband was playing golf yesterday,” Nina said slowly, trying to process what she’d just heard.
There was only one golf club in the city that matched the caliber of men like Stella’s husband and Frank.
They’d been patrons there for five years.
Frank hadn’t cared about golf at all at first, but then he’d suddenly gotten into it, bought all the gear, paid for a yearly membership, and started going there several times a week after work to unwind.
Stella blinked, then shook her head with a short, incredulous laugh.
“Nina, you must be mistaken. If Black rented out the club, then there were no outsiders there at all. Your husband couldn’t have been playing there.”
A deep chill ran down Nina’s spine. Frank had lied to her.
“Are you sure the club was completely closed?” her voice was calm, though everything inside her tightened.
Stella snorted irritably, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Absolutely sure. You can ask anyone.” She wrinkled her nose in annoyance.
“I was so pissed that I called the administrator and made a scene. You know what they told me? ‘We’re sorry, but we’re hosting a private event and even members don’t have access.
Tomorrow we’ll be open from eight a.m., and we’ll gladly offer you three complimentary drinks after your game. ’”
Nina stayed silent, frantically sorting through possibilities in her head. Maybe they’d gone to a different golf club? Unlikely. There was only this one within city limits, and the nearest one outside the city was a three-hour drive away. If that were the case, Frank would’ve come home at dawn.
“Nina, what’s wrong?” Stella narrowed her eyes, studying her closely.
“Nothing,” Nina said quickly and forced a smile. “It just feels strange.”
“Well, your husband could’ve told you anything.
Maybe he wasn’t playing golf at all,” Stella wrinkled her nose.
“Not every man reports to his wife about his every move. Maybe he was out drinking with the guys at some strip bar and fed you a story about golf. Don’t overthink it. They all do that sometimes.”
Nina didn’t answer, though everything inside her protested. Frank always told her exactly where he was going, even if it was just to meet friends. He wasn’t the kind of man who lied over small things. They’d always had a relationship built on trust.
She spent the rest of the day at the center, but she felt like she was submerged in a soundless haze. Normally, Nina loved this time. Children ran around her, laughed, shared their stories. But today, as she went through the motions, her thoughts drifted far away from the noisy playroom.
The receipt she’d found in Frank’s jacket kept replaying in her mind. It was from a bar downtown — not the golf club. And the time on it was seven in the evening.
Why had he lied?
For now, she could still force herself to see it as a coincidence. Maybe they really had played somewhere else and then gone to a bar afterward. But then why hadn’t he told her? She had always believed Frank never lied to her.
And what if it hadn’t just been a night out with the guys?
Her heart started beating faster. Once again, she caught herself thinking the unthinkable — that her own husband might be cheating on her.
***
All the way home, Nina kept replaying her conversation with Stella in her head. The more she thought about it, the stronger the anxiety grew inside her.
They’d been together for so many years. She was endlessly grateful to him for staying.
Sometimes she even felt guilty that she couldn’t be the wife she believed he deserved.
She wasn’t easy to live with. Panic attacks, depressive episodes.
There were times when it was hard for her to let him close.
But Frank had known what he was getting into.
He’d known about what had happened to her in the past. He’d known that wounds like that didn’t simply vanish.
Could Frank really have… No. That couldn’t be true. She didn’t want to believe it. But she could no longer pretend the coincidences meant nothing.
She needed time to fully grasp what was really going on. And she already knew where to start.
As soon as she got home, Nina locked herself in the bathroom and took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she needed.
Robert Stanfield.
He had worked for her father for many years, handled all the company’s legal matters, and had been the family’s most trusted legal counsel.
After her father’s death, he’d transitioned to advising Frank almost without a word.
Back then, it had seemed perfectly logical.
Nina had never been interested in the family business, and she knew her father would eventually pass it on to Frank. She’d stayed out of it.
But now everything was different.
Nina took a deep breath and pressed call.
“Nina?” Robert picked up almost immediately. His voice, as always, sounded calm and kind. “It’s so nice to hear from you.”
“Good afternoon, Robert,” she said, forcing her voice into steady control, though her fingers tightened around the phone. “I’m sorry to bother you, but this is urgent.”
“Of course. I’m listening.”
“I’d like to… suspend the transfer of the shares to Frank,” she said as firmly as she could, afraid her voice might shake.
There was a short pause on the other end.
“I’m sorry, Nina, did I hear you correctly? Suspend it?”
“Yes,” she confirmed, feeling her chest constrict.
She had no intention of sharing her suspicions with him. And besides, a fear gnawed at her that he might be beholden to Frank. They had worked side by side for years under her father. And she had always remained just the daughter. And then the wife.
“Did something happen?” His voice softened, almost concerned.
He had always treated her warmly, almost like a daughter. A memory surfaced of him bringing her chocolate when she was a child, stopping by her father’s office with documents. Nina felt a little steadier. How could she have doubted him?
“No, of course not,” she said quickly. “I just need time to think.”
“Nina, are you sure? Frank won’t be happy if he finds out. And he’s been unusually insistent about finalizing this. Most likely he’ll ask again tomorrow or the day after.”
“That’s exactly why,” she said quietly. “Please don’t tell him yet. At least for a few days.”
This time the pause was longer, a beat too long.
“All right. I’ll take care of it,” he finally said. “But if something is wrong, you know you can trust me.”
It seemed he had understood that something was wrong between her and Frank. Nina felt a little ashamed of her impulsiveness, of her suspicion.
“Thank you, Robert,” she said softly.
She ended the call, the weight settling on her shoulders.
Now she had a little time.
The real question was whether it would be enough time to learn the truth — and what kind of storm Frank would unleash when he found out she’d changed her mind about giving him the company shares.