Winning Back His Ex's Wife's Broken Heart by Hayley

Chapter 81

Richard's

pov.

Sarah stood there, still holding the file like it was her only shield. Her shoulders were tense, her head slightly bowed.

I wanted to run over and pull her into my arms, to ask her a thousand questions, but I stayed back, waiting for her to gather herself. She needed a minute, and I wasn't about to take that from her. Finally, she looked around, her eyes scanning the area until they fell on me. Her expression shifted, a mix of surprise and relief flooding her face.

She didn't look angry that I'd followed her-if anything, she looked grateful.

I stepped out from the shadows, walking over slowly. "You alright?" I asked, my voice soft.

She let out a shaky breath and nodded. "Yeah. Just... a bit shaken, I guess."

I glanced at the file she was clutching. "Who is he? What did he give you?"

Her gaze dropped to the file, a frown creasing her forehead. "I don't know yet," she murmured. "But whatever it is... it can't be good."

I put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "We'll figure it out. Together."

She gave me a small, tired smile. "I know. I just... I thought maybe if I did this alone, I could keep you out of it."

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. "Sarah, there's no way I'm letting you handle this by yourself. We're in this together, remember?"

She looked down, nodding slowly. "Yeah... together." But there was something in her eyes, a flicker of doubt, like she was still holding onto a part of the burden on her own.

the way she

you going to

smile tugging at her lips. "Let's get

arm around her as we walked back to the car. Every step I took, I kept glancing

streets were silent, empty. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching us somehow, even as

at the kitchen table, the

hovering over it before she finally flipped it open. Inside were stacks of photos, documents, and notes-all neatly organized, like they'd been

is it?" I asked,

swallowed, holding up a photo-a grainy, black-and-white shot of me, standing outside one of

me too." She pulled out another photo, one of her leaving her yoga class, her expression distant, unaware of the camera capturing her every move. A chill ran down my spine. "This is Susan, isn't it?" I said, gritting my teeth. "She's the only one who'd go this

nodded slowly, still staring at the photos. "I don't know if she's really

trying to scare us. Trying to make us paranoid

the back of the file. Her hands trembled as she held up a document, the words blurring together in my vision as I tried

a contract-an agreement from years ago, back when I'd

of

she began, "why is your name-your

it like this," I admitted, taking a deep breath. "Sarah, this was years ago. I was young, too trusting. I got caught up with the wrong people." She shook her head, her gaze intense. "That man... he called me here, Richard. He said if I didn't convince you

looked down at the papers again, her knuckles white as she gripped them. "And if they do...

blame her. From her perspective, it looked like I'd walked

I didn't know what I was signing back then. It was just business, I thought. Legitimate, or at least as close as it could be. But as I found out later,

"How can I be sure you weren't aware,

it. And the moment I did realize, I cut ties. I had no idea they'd keep records, use them as a threat years later." Her gaze softened slightly, but the skepticism remained. "So... why

want leverage. They think that by threatening to expose this, they can force me into doing