Chapter 3: B: The Wife’s Trust

👉 Previous Decision: You chose to show the secret financial note to your wife Maya.

The apartment felt small, the air heavy between us. Maya sat on the edge of the sofa, her arms wrapped around herself, watching me with wide, worried eyes. I’d just finished explaining the daily memory wipe, the vague bruises, and the numbers.

I held out the paper slip. “These are offshore banking codes, Maya. From your dad’s company. I think he’s doing something illegal.”

She took the note, her fingers brushing mine, cool and distant. She stared at the numbers, then looked up at me, her face pale. “My father? No, Leo, you’re wrong. He wouldn’t.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “He’s built everything from nothing. He’s a good man.”

“Good men don’t erase their employees’ memories for eight hours a day,” I shot back, my patience fraying. “Good men don’t have offshore routing numbers appearing out of thin air on ‘data processing’ floors.”

A tear traced a path down her cheek. “He’s just protecting the company. He always says the world is against him, against Apex. These are probably just… contingency plans.”

“Contingency plans for what, Maya? Money laundering?” My voice had risen, sharp with frustration.

She stood up abruptly, the paper note still clutched in her hand. Her chest heaved. “I can’t believe you, Leo. You hate him, don’t you? You’re trying to ruin him!”

“I’m trying to figure out what’s going on!”

“I’m going to talk to him,” she declared, her voice firmer now, edged with betrayal. “He’ll explain it. You’ll see. There’s a reason for everything.”

I watched, numb, as she stormed out, the front door slamming shut behind her. Later that day, Maya called me, her voice choked with tears. Arthur had indeed “explained.” My high-paying contract was terminated. Our joint bank account, cleaned out, frozen by “legal dispute.” The debt collectors started calling before dinner. Arthur’s reach was long, and Maya’s trust had led me right into his grasp.