He was barred from bidding on two state contracts after an ethics investigation three years ago.”
The affair, Claire realized, had helped Ryan hide his movements.
Every supposed romantic trip with Chloe had also created an excuse for meetings, hotel stays, and unexplained expenses.
Chloe was not merely his secretary or mistress.
She was part of the scheme.
But she might not have understood all of it.
That possibility became clearer when Chloe asked to speak with Claire.
The officers initially refused.
Elena agreed only if Martin remained present and the conversation was recorded.
Chloe entered the room without her coat.
Her face looked younger without the carefully controlled expression she wore at work events.
She did not sit.
“Ryan said you knew,” she began.
Claire felt no urge to make the conversation easier for her.
“Knew what?”
“About us.
He said the marriage was over except on paper.
He said you stayed because of the apartment and your image.”
Claire almost laughed at the precision of the lie.
Ryan had accused her of the very things that mattered most to him.
“He texted me that he loved me this morning,” Claire said.
“While he was boarding the flight with you.”
Chloe looked down.
“He said you monitored him.
He said you were jealous and unstable.”
“That is what he told me about you.”
Chloe’s eyes lifted.
For the first time, anger replaced fear.
She told them Ryan had begun the affair after a company retreat.
He claimed he was separated.
He promised that once a major freight contract was awarded, he would leave Claire and promote Chloe into a regional strategy role.
At first, Chloe believed the documents were ordinary bid materials Ryan was authorized to review.
Later, when she noticed Claire’s name and confidential markings, she confronted him.
Ryan said Claire had willingly provided everything.
“Why carry the folder on the plane?” Martin asked.
“Ryan didn’t trust email anymore,” Chloe said.
“He said someone at Claire’s company was tracking access.
We were supposed to give the folder to Daniel in Denver.”
“And the forged approval?”
Chloe’s face went pale.
“I never saw that page.”
Martin did not reassure her.
“You forwarded the files.”
“Because Ryan told me to.”
“You work in logistics compliance.
Did that seem lawful?”
She had no answer.
Claire watched Chloe’s certainty collapse piece by piece.
She did not feel sympathy exactly, but she recognized the familiar architecture of Ryan’s manipulation.
He told each woman that the other was irrational.
He gave each of them only enough truth to make the next lie believable.
The door opened.
A representative from Ryan’s employer entered with outside counsel.
They had already received Elena’s notification and reviewed the initial evidence.
Ryan was brought in several minutes later.
He looked furious rather than frightened.
