Chapter 9: Liam’s True Colors
Diane's POV
I sat at Joan's dining room table, surrounded by mountains of paperwork and my laptop. The beach home had become our unofficial war room in the fight against Liam. As I sifted through financial records and emails, I couldn't help but feel like we hadn't even scraped the surface of Liam's dishonesty.
"Diane, come look at this," Joan called from the living room, "Diane, come look at this." I forced myself to stand up, dismissing the feeling of nausea that had been all too common lately. I put it down to stress, but I reminded myself to get checked out right away.
Joan had her head bent over her laptop, her forehead creased with focus. "I think I found something interesting in Liam's credit card statements."
I scanned the screen as I leaned over her shoulder. Nothing seemed out of the norm at first glance—business meals, travel costs, the typical accoutrements of a successful executive's life. However, I soon saw a pattern.
"Hold on, please go back," I murmured, gesturing to the laptop screen. "These charges at the Ritz-Carlton are not one-time incidents. each month on the second Tuesday for the past twelve months."
With a gloomy expression, Joan nodded. "And always for the penthouse suite." The implications dawned on me, and my heart dropped dramatically. "You don't think..." "There's only one way to find out," Joan stated, grabbing her phone.
We were seated in the luxurious Ritz-Carlton lobby an hour later. Joan had performed her magic, getting the manager to agree to a meeting with us while claiming to be organizing a business function. I was feeling a mixture of determination and anxiety as we waited.
The manager, a polished lady in her forties, gave us a cordial welcome. "Mrs. Ashton, Ms. Joan, how can I assist you today?"