Tracy Corbett - Secret Things and Highland Flings

He took her hand before she could move it. ‘I miss you.’

Ignoring the familiar warmth of his touch, she met his gaze. ‘Well, I don’t miss you, Marcus. I don’t miss being lied to, stolen from or cheated on.’

Far from being deterred, he saw this as a challenge. He’d always been seduced by things he couldn’t have. She’d suddenly become unattainable. Nothing turned Marcus on more than the temptation of a woman saying no to him.

He stroked the back of her hand. ‘You forget all the good times we had.’

‘You’re right, Marcus, I do. I’ve made a conscious effort to forget every single one of them.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Frankly, I don’t care what you believe. Now, please leave and don’t come back. I don’t want you in my life anymore. I’ve moved on.’

He was staring at her mouth like he used to when he was about to bedazzle her with his charms. ‘Christ, you’re sexy when you’re angry.’ He reached forwards to kiss her.

She pulled away. Jesus, his flattery skills had taken a dive.

‘I still love you, Lexi. You know that. We could be together again. Think of the fun we’d have.’ A glimmer of the old Marcus was back. A scheme forming in his mind as his eyes roamed over her body, no attempt to hide where his thoughts were headed. ‘We’d make a great team. You and me, hustling the world. I’m not angry you took my money. Actually, I admire you for it. I never thought you’d have the balls. Think what we could do with it? You’ve been a goodie two-shoes for too long. It’s time to unleash your inner bad girl.’

Words every woman longs to hear … not.

What an idiot Marcus was. What an idiot she was for marrying him.

She was about to tell him as much, when someone banged on the gallery door.

A tall man with thinning beige hair and matching raincoat was peering through the glass. He drew out an identity badge and held it up.

Oh, Christ, what now?

‘Who the hell is that?’ she said, praying it wasn’t the police. Not that she’d done anything wrong. Well, not much.

‘No idea, but I’m not hanging around to find out.’ Marcus shot over to the steps leading down to the basement before she could stop him.

She was about to go after him, when she realised she needed to deal with the official-looking man first. Not to mention her customers. Marcus wouldn’t find what he was looking for downstairs. He was a problem for later.

Unfortunately, she realised the businessmen had left. They’d obviously grown tired of being kept waiting. She’d missed out on a sale. Bloody Marcus!

The man in the raincoat stepped inside. ‘I’m looking for Mrs Alexia Aldridge,’ he said, tucking his glasses inside his worn coat.

She turned to him. ‘Well, you’ve found her. Although Aldridge was my married name. I’ve reverted to my maiden name of Ryan.’

He held out his name badge for her to read. ‘Brian Falk, investigating officer with the insolvency headquarters. I have a few questions.’

Jesus, hadn’t they quizzed her enough fifteen months ago? ‘Now isn’t a convenient time. My assistant isn’t in. Can you come back another day?’

‘This won’t take long.’ He obviously wasn’t going to leave.

With a sigh, she locked the door and flipped the closed sign. The sooner she answered his questions, the sooner he’d be gone. She needed to get Marcus out of her basement.

‘Follow me,’ she said, showing him into the back office. ‘Tea, coffee?’

He placed his briefcase on the floor and sat down. ‘Just water. Thank you.’

She went over to the kitchenette, trying to stem the rising feeling of panic. Why was he here? Did he know what she’d done?

Water slurped over the edge of the glass as she carried it over to him, her nerves betraying her. ‘So, how can I help you, Mr Falk?’

He put his glasses back on and laid his briefcase across his lap. ‘As you know, we’ve been looking into the matter of undeclared assets for you and your husband—’

‘Ex-husband.’

He peered over the top of his glasses.

‘We’re no longer married.’

‘My mistake.’ He removed a document from his briefcase. ‘Further evidence has come to light with regard to a life insurance policy taken out for you and your husband.’ He handed her a document. ‘Are you familiar with the policy I’m referring to, Mrs Aldridge?’

‘It’s Ms Ryan.’ She took the document from his outstretched hand. ‘And no, I’m not.’ She carried the document over to the table and sat down.

‘If you would care to look at the policy details and the withdrawal section on the back, you’ll see both documents bear your signature.’

She gazed down at the document in her hand, a document she’d never seen before. The Royal Sun Alliance policy appeared to have been taken out in August 2014, shortly after they were married. Both of their names were listed. Why the hell didn’t she know about this?

The investigator cleared his throat. ‘I note from your interview with Mr Dickens, the official receiver, on 9 February 2017, that this policy wasn’t mentioned as part of your marital assets. I wonder why that was?’

She stared at the document. ‘Because I never knew it existed.’

‘I find that a little hard to believe. After all, that is your signature on the policy, is it not? How do you account for that?’

‘I … I can’t. What I mean is, I’ve never seen this document before in my life.’

It was clear he didn’t believe her. He removed a pad from his briefcase and scribbled something down. ‘Are you quite sure? Forgetting about its existence would seem a little strange. Especially as you and your husband surrendered the policy shortly before the bankruptcy hearing.’

She felt something hard hit her in the chest. There was no way she’d have forgotten that. She lifted the document closer, studying the handwriting. ‘I … I don’t understand. How can a life insurance policy be cashed in if both parties are still alive?’

‘As I said, the policy was surrendered. The terms and conditions allowed for the refund of premiums paid into the account up until its cancellation. Surrendering the policy would have incurred hefty fees, but there would still have been a substantial payout.’

She stared at the document, trying to make sense of it. Had she really forgotten about it? Surely not. The print was tiny, the list of terms and conditions hard to distinguish, but true enough, there at the bottom of the page appeared to be her signature. She peered closer, trying to fathom why she couldn’t remember signing it. ‘And when did you say it was cashed in?’

He checked his notebook. ‘Third of November 2016.’

The text on the page blurred before her as tears filled her eyes. That was two weeks before Marcus had run off with Cindy. The familiar pain of betrayal settled over her. The realisation that Marcus had been defrauding her since the day they were married was a feeling like no other she’d experienced. She’d been convinced his illegal antics were solely linked to the financial problems of his used-car business. But this was premeditated. A deliberate action designed to scam his own wife. Jesus. Marcus really had been a cheat. In more ways than one.

Trying to contain her anger, she looked at the investigating officer. ‘This is not my signature.’

‘I beg your pardon, Mrs Aldridge?’

‘My name is Ms Ryan … and I said, that’s not my signature.’ She flipped over the page, looking for the withdrawal section. There it was again, her signature … but not. ‘The reason I don’t remember taking out this policy, or cashing it in, is because I never knew it existed.’ She got up and handed him the papers.