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.

look, the way she

to

me, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Let's get

walked back to the car. Every step I took, I kept glancing around, half-expecting the man to jump out

the feeling that he

down at the kitchen table, the file lying between

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

is it?" I

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

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,

don't know if she's really the one. He

trying to scare us. Trying to make

Her hands trembled as she held

agreement from years ago, back when I'd been naive enough to trust

of confusion and anger as she glanced

your

young, too trusting. I got caught up with the wrong people." She shook her head, her gaze intense.

again, her knuckles white as she gripped them. "And if

I couldn't blame her. From her perspective, it looked like I'd walked right

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, these weren't just deals. They were traps, ultimatums masked as

sure you weren't aware, Richard? That

calm. "Because if I'd known, I would have done everything to get out of 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.

to expose this, they can force me into doing