I went undercover as a waitress at my husband’s company gala, but what I discovered went beyond c…

Confrontation at the Dinner Table

The wedding. He was planning to marry her, which meant he was planning to divorce me.,

My Mark, my husband of six years, was the man who’d promised to love me forever. I don’t know how long I stood there, maybe five minutes or maybe fifteen.

Gradually, the shock began to fade, replaced by something else: anger, white-hot, clarifying anger. I wasn’t going to fall apart, not here and not now.

I’d come here for the truth and I’d gotten it, but I wanted more than the truth. I wanted them to know that I knew.

I wanted to see the look on Mark’s face when he realized his careful deception had crumbled. I composed myself, fixed my hair, and walked back into the ballroom.

Dinner was being served. I deliberately took the tray designated for Mark and Jessica’s table.

As I approached, Mark was leaning close to Jessica, whispering something that made her giggle. I set the plates down in front of them with steady hands.

“Your dinner,”

I said, my voice clear and calm.

Mark glanced up, and for a moment, nothing registered. Then his eyes met mine, really met mine.

I saw the exact second recognition hit him. His face went completely white; his mouth opened then closed.

Jessica looked between us, confused.

“Emma?”

Mark’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Hello darling,”

I said, my voice sweet as honey and sharp as a knife.

“Fancy meeting you here at this employee-only event.”

Jessica’s eyes widened.

“Emma as in your wife, Emma?”

I smiled at her.

“That would be me, and you must be Jessica. I’ve heard so much about you. Well, actually, I haven’t heard anything about you.”

“My husband failed to mention he had such a close working relationship with someone, especially someone he’s apparently planning to marry.”

People at the nearby tables had stopped eating and were watching us now. Mark stood up so quickly his chair fell backward.

“Emma, this isn’t… You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I?”

I kept my voice level but loud enough for people to hear.

“Let me tell you what I understand. I understand that my husband has been lying to me for months. I understand that he’s been having an affair with his colleague.”

“I understand that she’s pregnant. Yes, Jessica, I noticed you weren’t drinking. And I understand that he’s apparently planning to leave me for her. Did I miss anything?”

Jessica’s hand flew to her stomach, her face pale. Mark reached for my arm, but I stepped back.

“Emma, please, not here. Let’s talk outside.”

“Why not here?”

I asked.

“These are your friends, your colleagues, the people who’ve clearly known about this for months while I’ve been kept in the dark. Why shouldn’t they hear the truth?”

“Or were you planning to keep lying? Tell them we got divorced quietly? Maybe say I was unstable or demanding or whatever story you’ve concocted?”

“It’s not like that,”

Mark said desperately.

“I was going to tell you. I just needed to figure out the right time.”

“The right time?”

I laughed, and it sounded harsh even to my own ears.

“When would that have been, Mark? When she was in the delivery room? When you moved out? Or were you just going to let me figure it out on my own?”

Jessica stood up now, her voice shaking.

“I didn’t know he was still married. He told me you were separated, that the divorce was almost final. He showed me papers.”,

I looked at her, and despite everything, I felt a flash of pity. She was young, pregnant, and apparently had been lied to as well.

“What papers?”

I asked.

“Divorce papers,”

she said.

“You’d signed them, that you just needed to file them with the court.”

I turned to Mark.

“Divorce papers? I’ve never signed any divorce papers. I didn’t even know our marriage was in trouble until three months ago when you started acting like a stranger.”

The Fraud Behind the Fantasy

Mark’s face crumbled. The CEO was standing now, making his way toward us.

This was about to become very official very quickly, but I had one more thing to say.

“I came here tonight because I suspected my husband was cheating. I got proof of that, but now I’m curious about something else.”

“Jessica, you said you’re a senior accountant working on the Ashton account with Mark?”

She nodded, confused by the change in subject.

“And Mark, you’re a senior financial analyst, correct? Which means, Jessica, you’d have access to all the account records, all the transactions.”,

I looked at Mark, and I saw fear flicker across his face—real fear.

“I’m a marketing director, but I used to work in finance, and something’s been bothering me. Mark’s been spending a lot of money lately: new clothes, a new car, expensive dinners.”

“He said it was all from a bonus, but I checked our bank accounts. There was no bonus. So where was the money coming from?”

The CEO was right next to us now.

“What are you suggesting?”

I met his eyes.

“I’m suggesting that maybe someone should audit the Ashton account very carefully. All those late nights, all that restructuring. I’m just wondering if everything is as it seems.”

Mark’s face was now gray.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

But I did. I’d found the burner phone two weeks ago, hidden in his gym bag.

I’d seen the messages, not just to Jessica, but to someone named Alex. Messages about moving the money and keeping it clean, and “just a few more months.”

At the time, I’d thought it was about hiding assets for a divorce, but now seeing Mark’s reaction, I realized it was so much worse.,

The CEO’s expression had gone from uncomfortable to deadly serious.

“Jessica, I need you to come with me. Mark, you too. We need to talk privately.”

He gestured to security. As they were being escorted away, Mark looked back at me.

“Emma, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It all just got out of control. I never meant…”

“You never meant to get caught,”

I finished for him.