Chapter 4

"William, calm down." Natalie's words tumbled out.

"Tyler's cat is usually well-behaved. He came over with some documents for me to sign, but he wasn't feeling well. The cat must have slipped in when we weren't paying attention—"

"Natalie, there was nothing on that wall except my dad's portrait." I cut her off.

"There wasn't even anything nearby for a cat to climb on. So tell me, how exactly did it jump high enough to knock the portrait down?"

I pointed to the papers scattered across the desk. "And what about those documents? I locked them in the safe before I left the country. So how did they end up here?"

Natalie opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Just then, Tyler suddenly showed up. He dropped to his knees and slapped himself across the face a few times.

"Mr. Fuller, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'll pay for everything. Ms. Smith had nothing to do with this. Please stop giving her a hard time."

"Who let you in?" My voice went cold.

Tyler glanced at me.

For just a second, I caught a hint of smugness flickering beneath his nervous expression.

"W-Whenever I came over to have Ms. Smith sign documents, I always had to bother the housekeeper to let me in. So later, Ms. Smith added my fingerprint to the security system."

I gave a cold laugh and called the smart home assistant. "Alexa, call the police."

"Okay, calling the police now," the system chimed instantly.

"Wait! Alexa, cancel that." Natalie's eyes widened.

"William, enough! Tyler already said he'd pay for the damage. Why are you still making a big deal out of this? I know you're just jealous that he was there for me while you were away, so you're trying to get him in trouble.

"But let me make this clear one last time. Nothing happened between Tyler and me, and I won't let you make him your punching bag!"

The more she talked, the more self-righteous she got.

I grabbed the cup beside me and hurled it at the wall behind them.

"Pay for it? Try letting some animal shit all over your father's portrait and see how you feel! Can he even afford to make up for the damage? Do you seriously think I give a damn about his money?"

Natalie pulled the terrified Tyler out of the way and rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Look, William. You're still angry, and there's no talking to you right now. Just have someone make a list of everything that was damaged. I was the one who let Tyler into the house. If he can't afford to pay for it all, I'll cover the rest."

I snorted. "You'll pay? Fine. We'll go to the courthouse and get divorced now. Let's see how much you can afford to pay me!"

When she heard the word "divorce", Natalie freaked out. "Why do you keep bringing that up?"

She sighed. "Alright, I get it. You just can't stand Tyler. I'll get him out of your sight. He'll figure out how to pay you back himself. Is that good enough?" She sounded like she was doing me a favor.

"Just stop talking about divorce. I love you, but my patience has limits. Stop testing me with threats every time you throw a fit."

Before I could respond, Natalie turned and walked away, dragging Tyler right along with her.

The next morning, when I swiped my badge to get into the office, the security turnstiles flashed red and locked me out.