Archie exchanged glances with Claire before prying the box open. His face went rigid.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, he knocked the box over, sending its contents scattering across the floor.
"What the fuck is this?!"
Photographs spilled everywhere.
Shots of Archie and Claire at a hotel. On holiday. Kissing in a nightclub. Some of their most intimate moments.
Amongst the pile, a copy of Zac’s birth certificate landed face up. Archie's name was listed as the biological father. Claire as the mother.
And at the very top—a white envelope.
Inside, my signed divorce papers.
The room turned deathly silent.
Archie clenched his jaw, his hands balling into fists as he glared at the evidence.
Thomas shifted uneasily. "Sir…"
"What now?!" Archie barked, his temper flaring.
Thomas hesitated before shakily handing over his tablet. "You need to see this."
Archie snatched it, eyes widening as he took in the screen. A stock market graph was plummeting.
OAK GROUP SHARES TANKING
And beneath the headline, a more damning line of text:
"CEO SCANDAL EXPOSED! INFIDELITY & SECRET CHILD SHAKE COMPANY REPUTATION"
Archie went completely still. His face drained of colour.
Claire gasped, her hands covering her mouth.
"No… no, this can’t be happening," Archie whispered.
Before he could fully process the damage, Thomas spoke again, voice trembling.
"Sir… there’s more bad news."
Archie whipped around, eyes blazing. "For fuck’s sake, just say it, Thomas!"
Thomas took a shaky breath. "Mrs Knight’s car… fell from the Thames Bridge. A sixty-eight-foot drop. The police and rescue teams are on the scene."
A cold, suffocating silence blanketed the room.
Claire clung to Archie’s arm, her nails digging in, but he didn’t react. His hands were still clenched, veins bulging under the pressure.
I smiled faintly.
From behind the wheel, I glanced at my phone one last time.
The wreckage of my Mini Cooper, floating in the murky depths of the Thames, was displayed across the news.
Goodbye, Archie.
