Chapter 3 - Fractured Alibis
The cool night air hit Trina’s face as she stepped out of the upscale restaurant, but it did little to cool the fire burning in her chest. Behind her, Ramon and Lisa hurried to keep pace, the heavy black travel suitcase bumping awkwardly against Ramon's legs as he dragged it behind him. The neon lights of the city painted the pavement in long, distorted streaks of red and blue.
"Trina, stop walking so fast and listen to me!" Ramon hissed, catching up to her near the curb. His face was slick with nervous sweat, the dark polo shirt stained at the collar. "You are making a massive mistake. If you involve the police or freeze that corporate account, we both go down. My name is on those company papers too."
Trina stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, her eyes flashing with pure fury. "Your name is on the papers, Ramon, but the capital came from my family’s estate. Every single cent of it." She pointed a trembling finger at his chest. "You think you can drain our joint funds to finance a secret getaway to Tokyo with your mistress? You are out of your mind."
Lisa stood a few paces back, clutching her green sleeveless dress around her shoulders as the night breeze chilled her skin. She looked utterly defeated, the glamorous illusion of their romantic getaway completely shattered. "He told me the business was failing, Trina," Lisa said softly, her voice barely audible over the hum of passing traffic. "He said you were holding him back, that you refused to sign the divorce papers out of spite."
Trina let out a harsh, incredulous laugh. "Divorce papers? Lisa, we haven't even spoken about a divorce. He told you that so you would sympathize with him, so you would agree to pack my belongings and take my seat on that plane."
Ramon stepped between them, his eyes darting frantically. "Shut up, Lisa! Stop digging a deeper grave!" He turned back to Trina, his voice dropping into a desperate, pleading tone. "Look, we can fix this. We go home, we divide the assets quietly, no lawyers, no scandals. Just you and me, Trina. Like we agreed months ago."
"We never agreed on anything of the sort," Trina said coldly. She pulled her phone from her pocket, the screen still lit with the banking app interface. "The corporate audit starts at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I already called our chief accountant before I walked into that restaurant."
Ramon’s face went entirely blank. All the color vanished from his cheeks, leaving him looking hollow and aged. "You... you audited the accounts? You knew?"
"I didn't know about Lisa until today," Trina corrected him, stepping closer so he could see the absolute resolve in her eyes. "I just knew you were hiding money. The suitcase was just a bonus confirmation of your absolute cowardice."
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As Ramon stared at her in stunned silence, a sleek black sedan pulled up to the curb. The rear door swung open, and a tall man in a sharp charcoal suit stepped out, holding a manila folder bearing the official seal of Trina's family law firm.
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