Chapter 26 THE INNOCENT WIFE
Chapter 26 THE INNOCENT WIFE
LATER THAT EVENING
EDWARD
“Sir, we just made a major breakthrough in the investigations.” Detective Wilder says as he saunters into my office.
For some reason, my chest tightens with nerves.
“Detective, sit. What do you have for me?”
“Our best hackers completed a forensic sweep of your internal servers thirty minutes ago.”
“And?”
He slides a thick folder across my desk.
“We found out that your company’s servers were indeed breached. And the breach stemmed from a dormant hackathon credential issued eight years ago.”
I pause, a thousand and one scenarios already playing through my head.
“What does this mean?”
“The access key belonged to a participant of that hackathon. A dude named Steven Kwan.”
The atmosphere suddenly feels tight, devoid of oxygen.
“So you’re saying…”
“Yes, sir. Your wife was right all along.
The coding patterns from this case matches Mr. Kwan's submissions from eight years ago, down to the keystroke cadence.
We also successfully traced the payment made by BellaMonte to the person who sold the blueprints. The money was routed through a cryptocurrency wallet registered under his coding alias, S. Kwan.
There is no evidence that your wife profited from the stolen files in any way.” A beat of silence, then;
“You put the wrong person under house arrest, Sir.
Mrs. DaSilva is innocent.”
His worde hit me like punch to the throat.
I scan through the files, the guilt in my chest tripling, almost choking as I confirm the detective’s words.
Hayley was right all along.
She was innocent.
I return home that night after tying up some loose strings at the office to find my housekeeper waiting for me at the door.
Her expression dissolves into a mask of relief when she sees me.
“Mr. DaSilva. Thank God you’re back.”
“Sylvia? What’s wrong?”
“It’s your wife, sir. She hasn’t eaten anything since she returned from your office yesterday. Instead, she keeps drinking cups of hot chocolate.
This morning, I heard her puking when I went to drop off her food. She even asked me to take the food away.
Grandma is not at home, sir, I don’t know what to do.”
A strange emotion tugs at my heartstrings, one I recognize as worry.
I open my mouth to speak but just then, Victoria emerges from the rooms;
“Sylvia is just being dramatic. I spoke to Hayley a few moments ago. She’s stressed and needs rest. That’s all.”
My eyes wander to the hallway that leads to the rooms. For some reason, I cannot shake off the feeling of dread that burns deep in the pits of my stomach.
“Are you sure?”
She flashes a sincere smile.
“Of course! Hayley is absolutely fine. Let’s have dinner, shall we?”
Later that night, after tossing and turning for hours on end, I find myself outside the master bedroom, my fist hovering over the door.
I noticed that Hayley usually comes down to have a cup of cold milk by 10 PM, so I stayed up in the living room till midnight, working on some last minute meeting prep.
I told myself that I needed a change of scenery from my office, but deep down, I knew I was waiting for her.
When it struck midnight and she didn’t show up, I finally gave up and went to bed. It’s currently two AM and I haven’t been able to sleep a wink.
I finally give up and walk away.
I’ll see her tomorrow before leaving for work. We have a lot to talk about.
THE NEXT DAY…
“Sir, please come quick!!” Sylvia’s panicked voice filters into my bedroom.
“What’s going on?”
When I finally emerge, my housekeeper is as pale as a sheet.
“Mrs. DaSilva. She… she…”
“For fuck’s sake.” I mutter, my patience already stretching thin as I make my way to the master’s bedroom.
I’ll just have to see whatever is going on for myself.
I tell myself that I’m not worried about Hayley, but dread twists my insides into a knot that tells an entirely different story.
Pushing the door open, I immediately notice that there’s something different about the room.
“All her stuff is gone!” Sylvia cries behind me, she took all her personal belongings.”
I look deeper, my heartbeat accelerating violently when I realize that she’s right.
Hayley’s butterfly and Winniethepooh plushies are gone. Her favourite white vase is gone too.
I refuse to acknowledge the gnawing, painful sensation in my chest as I walk to the closet on autopilot.
The wardrobe that holds her personal clothes is completely empty. All that’s left are the rows and rows of designer dresses that I bought for her with my money.
“Edward, I found this on the toilet seat.” I turn around to find Victoria holding out a document.
For three full seconds, I stare at the stack of papers like they contain a nuclear bomb.
She hands it over, and the heading hits me like a punch to the guts.
“DIVORCE PETITION.”
A storm of emotions crash over me all at once — anger, confusion, rage… and a twisted sense of betrayal.
Her part of the petition is already signed. Beside her signature is a tiny post-it note with the words;
“By the time you see this, I’ll probably already be a long way gone.
It’s officially over between us, Edward. Sign the petition and go be with the woman you truly love.”
One second. That’s all it takes for my mood to go to shit.
“Bloody hell!” I roar, flinging the papers across the room.
I watch with mounting dissatisfaction as they flutter to the ground like extra sized confetti.
“Edward, are you okay?” Aunt Susan asks, hurrying into the room.
I ignore them, dialing John’s number instead.
“Sir?”
“I don’t care how you’re gonna do it, John, but find my wife and bring her back to me before the day is fucking over…”