Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Knocked on My Door
The knock came Sunday morning.
I expected Monica.
Instead, a woman I had never seen stood on our porch.
Early forties.
Perfect coat.
No makeup.
Eyes swollen from crying.
“Damon Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Simone Cole.”
I knew immediately.
“Adrian’s wife.”
She nodded.
Tasha appeared behind me.
Simone looked at her.
Neither woman spoke.
I almost closed the door.
Then Simone said, “I think my husband used both of us.”
That got her inside.
We sat around the same dining table where my marriage had nearly exploded three nights earlier.
Simone placed a flash drive between us.
Tasha stared at it.
“What’s on there?”
“Bank records.”
Simone looked exhausted.
“I own Northline.”
“You knew?”
Tasha asked it like an accusation.
Simone nodded.
“Yes.”
Tasha stood.
“You took company money?”
“No.”
“Your company received it.”
“My company exists.”
Simone raised her hands.
“But those invoices don’t.”
That silenced us.
She explained.
Northline was a legitimate small consulting company she had started five years earlier.
Six months ago, Adrian offered to “help grow it.”
He asked for access to business accounts.
Simone trusted her husband.
Then unusual deposits began.
She questioned him.
He claimed Harrington had finally contracted Northline.
“Did you do any work for them?” I asked.
“Two small projects.”
“How much?”
“Maybe eighteen thousand total.”
Tasha whispered, “There’s over three hundred thousand.”
Simone nodded.
“I know now.”
Her voice cracked.
“Adrian moved most of it out within days.”
“Where?”
“Accounts I don’t recognize.”
Tasha sat again.
Simone pushed the flash drive toward her.
“I copied everything before he locked me out.”
Tasha stared at it.
Then at Simone.
“Why help me?”
A strange smile crossed Simone’s face.
“Because you’re not the first woman at Harrington he got close to.”
My stomach tightened.
Tasha went still.
“What?”
“Three years ago, an assistant named Laura resigned suddenly.”
Simone looked at me.
“Adrian told me she became obsessed with him.”
Tasha whispered, “I heard that story.”
“Two years ago, there was another woman in accounting.”
Simone’s eyes filled.
“He told me she falsified reports.”
“What happened?”
“She was fired.”
Tasha looked sick.
“You think he used them?”
“I know he used Laura.”
“How?”
“She called me yesterday.”
Simone had tracked her down after investigators contacted Northline.
Laura told her the same pattern.
Praise.
Mentoring.
A promised promotion.
Personal messages.
Then instructions to approve irregular expenses.
When she questioned them, Adrian produced messages proving they had crossed personal boundaries.
He used the embarrassment to keep her quiet.
I looked at Tasha.
Her face had crumpled.
“You thought you were special,” Simone said softly.
Tasha flinched.
I expected anger.
Instead, Simone continued.
“So did I.”
Silence.
“I thought he chose me.”
Her voice broke.
“Then I realized men like Adrian don’t choose women.”
She looked at us.
“They choose leverage.”
Tasha began crying.
Not because Simone had insulted her.
Because she finally understood.
I wanted to feel vindicated.
I didn’t.
Manipulation did not erase Tasha’s choices.
But her choices did not excuse Adrian’s crimes either.
Again, two things could be true.
Simone stayed for almost three hours.
We called Nina.
Then investigators.
The flash drive was collected.
By that evening, the financial case had grown far beyond Tasha.
At six, my phone rang.
A number from an old construction company.
“Damon Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“This is Henry Lawson from MetroBuild.”
My heart accelerated.
I had interviewed there six weeks earlier.
“We reopened the senior project manager position.”
I sat straighter.
“Okay.”
“We’d like to offer it to you.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
Tasha stood in the kitchen watching me.
Henry told me the salary.
It was slightly less than my previous job.
I didn’t care.
“When would you need me?”
“Two weeks.”
“I accept.”
Tasha understood from my face.
Her eyes filled.
When I ended the call, she smiled.
“You got it.”
“I got it.”
She stepped toward me.
Then stopped.
The hesitation hurt.
Before all this, she would have thrown her arms around me.
Now neither of us knew what touch meant.
“Congratulations,” she whispered.
“Thank you.”
Jayden ran downstairs.
“What happened?”
“I got a job.”
His eyes widened.
“Dad!”
He slammed into me.
I hugged him.
Tight.
Then Jayden looked at Tasha.
“Does that mean you guys stop fighting?”
The joy disappeared.
Tasha looked at me.
I crouched.
“Buddy, my job was never the reason we were fighting.”
He frowned.
“But Mom said—”
Tasha interrupted softly.
“I said things I shouldn’t have.”
Jayden looked confused.
She knelt beside us.
“Your dad losing his job didn’t make him less important.”
Her voice cracked.
“I treated him like it did.”
I stared at her.
Jayden asked, “Why?”
Tasha looked down.
“Because sometimes adults get scared and turn fear into disrespect.”
He thought about that.
Then he asked me, “Were you disrespectful too?”
The question hit harder than anything.
I could have protected my pride.
Instead, I told the truth.
“Yes.”
Tasha looked at me.
“I gave your mom an ultimatum instead of slowing down and talking.”
Jayden frowned.
“Like when you say if I don’t clean my room, you take my Xbox?”
Despite everything, I laughed.
“Kind of.”
Tasha laughed too.
The sound surprised us both.
Then the doorbell rang.
Nobody expected anyone.
I checked the camera.
Adrian stood outside.
Tasha went pale.
“What is he doing here?”
I reached for my phone.
Adrian knocked again.
“Damon!”
I did not open the door.
“What do you want?”
He shouted through it.
“You think Simone is innocent?”
Tasha grabbed my arm.
“Don’t answer.”
I called police.
Adrian continued.
“She knew where the money came from!”
Tasha closed her eyes.
“Go away!”
He heard her.
“Tasha!”
She flinched.
“You ruined me!”
I stepped toward the door.
Then stopped.
I remembered my own anger three nights earlier.
Power was not proving I could dominate another man.
Power was refusing to let him control the moment.
I spoke through the closed door.
“The police are coming.”
Adrian hit the door once with his palm.
Jayden screamed upstairs.
That ended any hesitation I had.
“Leave my property.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Adrian backed away.
Then he shouted one final thing.
“Tasha begged me to take her away from you!”
He got into his car and drove off before officers arrived.
The words remained.
Tasha stood in the hallway crying.
I looked at her.
“Did you?”
She covered her face.
I already knew.
But I needed to hear it.
May you like
“Did you ask him to take you away from me?”
She whispered, “Yes.”
