After He Betrayed Me, I Disgraced Him

As planned, I met Mary at a diner the next morning and she told me Pamella was completely wasted that night. She was getting pretty handsy and all over some good-looking guy Mary didn’t recognize.

I pulled up the viral video of Niall and Pamella at the award show and asked, “Does this guy look familiar?”

Mary squinted at the screen, her brows furrowing in concentration. “Yeah, that could be him. Same build, same clothes.”

“Mary, if you can get me the CCTV footage, I’ll give you more money,” I offered.

She hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I’ll need double for this one. I’ve gotta sweet-talk the security guy, but I’ll get you the footage of Pamella and that man.”

We agreed and Mary left. I sat there, unsure of my next move. Part of me wanted to confront Niall, but another part wasn’t sure if I should even continue digging into this mess.

When I got back to the office, I found Margareta still in a meeting with the new CEO. The guy was young and hardly ever in the city, always jetting off for business deals.

I busied myself with research for about an hour until Margareta finally came down. “Em, Mr. Cardinale wants to see you.”

My stomach did a little flip as I headed to the CEO’s office. I knocked and stepped in and we talked about the site’s progress.

“Congrats, Emilie,” he said, smiling. “I’ve heard great things about your work. Keep this up and there could be a promotion to one of our international offices in your future.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s a pleasure working here.”

We exchanged polite smiles before I excused myself. I was relieved when the meeting was over—he wasn’t someone we saw around the office much and talking to him made me nervous.

Back at my desk, I worked until lunchtime. Just as I was about to take a break, Margareta popped up behind me. “Let’s grab lunch,” she suggested.

I agreed and we headed to a small hot dog stall nearby. As we ate, she asked, “How’s the story coming along?”

I forced a smile and filled her in on what I had found so far. She reminded me that I only had a few days to wrap it up.

“Do you have anything solid on the guy yet?” she asked.

I hesitated. I knew a lot about the guy—he was my boyfriend, after all—but I wasn’t sure how much I should reveal. “I’m still gathering info. So far, I’ve just got the basics—name, job, that sort of thing.”

Just then, a text buzzed on my phone. It was from Mary, which read, [Emilie, my friend told me Pamella will be staying at the hotel where she works tonight. You might want to check it out.]

I thanked Mary and then called Sean to update him on the info I got. "So, anything new on your end?" I asked.

"Niall’s been sticking to his usual routine and Pamella left town for a bit. Nothing out of the ordinary," Sean replied.

After that, I decided to call Niall to make sure. "Hey, can we meet tonight?" I asked.

“I’d love to, but I’m stuck at work late tonight,” he said.

A sense of unease settled in, but I forced myself to say, “Alright, no problem.”

I filled Margareta in on the situation before heading straight to the hotel Mary had mentioned. I found a seat in the lobby, pretending to be just another guest as I waited. Across the street, Isaac was sitting at a café, playing his part as a casual passerby.

I opened my laptop, trying to focus on writing up the story based on what I had uncovered so far. The idea of exposing Niall still gnawed at me—he was such a private person.

I tried calling him again, but it went straight to voicemail. A few minutes later, I got a text from him, which read, [Sorry, in a meeting. Can’t talk right now.]

Before I could reply, a sudden commotion erupted near the entrance. There was cheering, the flash of cameras and a flurry of footsteps. I knew instantly that Pamella had arrived. Sure enough, she stepped out of a sleek car, taking a few moments to pose for photos and sign autographs before making her way inside with her bodyguards.