Chapter 10 - The Break-In
Ava, Lena, and Marisol reached the clinic with police.
The records room door had been forced open.
Computer drives were missing.
Patient files covered the floor.
A small fire had started inside a waste bin but the sprinkler system extinguished it.
Nothing appeared stolen from the reception desk.
Whoever entered wanted company records.
Detective Warren reviewed the security video.
A man wearing a maintenance uniform had used an access card assigned to Ava’s suspended operations director—one of Victoria’s appointees.
The director denied involvement.
Then Warren found a bank transfer from Cole Urban Development to the intruder’s contracting company.
Victoria claimed it was payment for unrelated repairs.
The timing told a different story.
Ava walked through the damaged office.
The intruder had searched the cabinet containing corporate incorporation documents.
“He wanted the original ownership records,” her attorney said.
“Why?”
“If the forged honeymoon agreement fails, Ethan still needs another way to claim your company.”
Lena picked up a torn folder.
Inside was an old partnership proposal Ava had rejected two years earlier.
The proposal came from Cole Urban Development.
Ava had never met Victoria then.
The discovery proved Victoria had targeted her company long before Ethan approached her romantically.
This was not only about finding a controllable wife for Ethan.
The Coles wanted Ava’s growing rehabilitation network.
Her clinics owned valuable contracts with professional sports teams and federal recovery programs.
Buying the company openly would have cost millions.
Marriage fraud was cheaper.
Ava remembered how Ethan first met her.
He claimed he injured his shoulder while training.
He booked treatment under another name.
For three months, he appeared humble, curious, and supportive.
He brought lunch for the staff.
He donated equipment.
He learned every weakness in the company.
Their romance had doubled as corporate surveillance.
Detective Warren found a hidden tracking device beneath Ava’s desk.
It had been active for nine months.
The device transmitted to an account registered through a security firm owned by Ethan’s cousin.
Police expanded the investigation.
That evening, Warren called Ava.
“We found messages between Ethan and Victoria.”
Ava sat down.
“What do they say?”
“One message was sent the day Ethan proposed.”
Warren read it aloud.
She said yes. Begin the acquisition plan.
Ava closed her eyes.
Even the proposal had been a business move.
Then Warren read Victoria’s reply.
May you like
Do not repeat Lena’s mistake. Break this one before she learns she has choices.
👉 Ava now knew the marriage had been designed to steal her company—but Victoria’s message suggested Lena had once discovered something even more dangerous.
