Chapter 3: The Secret Behind My Marriage
The first thing I heard when I opened my eyes was the steady beep of a hospital monitor.
The second was Emily crying.
"She's awake.""
I turned my head.
My sister sat beside the bed, holding a paper cup of coffee she hadn't touched. Her mascara had smudged beneath her eyes.
"How's the baby?"" I whispered.
Emily immediately stood.
"He's okay. The doctor checked everything. His heartbeat is strong.""
I closed my eyes.
A tear slid down my cheek.
"Thank God.""
Emily brushed my hair away from my forehead.
"You scared me.""
"I'm sorry.""
"Don't apologize. Just don't ever let those people near you again.""
I tried to sit up.
A nurse entered and adjusted the monitor.
"Take it easy, Mrs. Ashford. Your blood pressure is still elevated.""
"How long have I been here?""
"About two hours.""
I looked toward the window.
The afternoon sunlight was fading.
Then I noticed a woman standing near the door.
She wore a dark blue blazer and carried a leather folder.
"Mrs. Ashford?""
I nodded.
"I'm Special Agent Rebecca Collins.""
Emily stiffened.
"Is she under arrest?""
The agent shook her head.
"No. I'm here because she provided information relevant to an ongoing investigation.""
I looked at Emily.
"Could you give us a minute?""
Emily hesitated.
"Sarah—"
"I'm okay.""
She reluctantly stepped into the hallway.
Agent Collins pulled a chair closer to the bed.
"First, I want you to know that the information you provided was extremely valuable.""
"Did you arrest Victor?""
"We executed the warrants at his headquarters. Several employees are being interviewed, and financial records have been seized.""
"What about Daniel?""
"He's being questioned.""
I looked down at my hands.
"Is he going to prison?""
"That depends on what the evidence establishes. We're still examining his role.""
She opened her folder.
"There's something else.""
The words from her message returned.
The discrepancy in the date.
"What did you find?""
Agent Collins placed a photocopy on my blanket.
It was my marriage license.
I recognized the signatures immediately.
Mine.
Daniel's.
And the officiant's.
"What's wrong with it?""
She pointed to the date.
"Your marriage was recorded on September fourteenth, correct?""
"Yes.""
"Did you personally submit this document?""
"No. Daniel's attorney handled the paperwork.""
"Did you meet the officiant?""
"Of course. We had a small ceremony at the Ashford estate.""
Agent Collins nodded.
"That's what we expected.""
She turned the page.
"This is a financial authorization document dated September twelfth.""
I frowned.
It contained Daniel's signature.
Beneath it was the name of an offshore company.
"Two days before our wedding?""
"Yes.""
"What does that mean?""
"It means the company used your identity as a beneficiary before you were legally married.""
I stared at her.
"That doesn't make sense.""
Agent Collins slid another document toward me.
"Your name appears on the original incorporation records of a company called Silvergate Holdings.""
I shook my head.
"I've never heard of it.""
"According to these records, the company was established three months before your wedding.""
"Who registered it?""
She paused.
"Your father-in-law.""
I felt the room tilt.
"Why would he use my name?""
"We believe he needed a beneficiary with no visible connection to the Ashford business network.""
"But I wasn't an Ashford then.""
"Exactly.""
She took a breath.
"Your identity appears to have been used to establish several accounts before you married Daniel. Those accounts later received transfers connected to the fraudulent invoices.""
I stared at the papers.
"Are you saying they used me?""
"We're investigating that possibility.""
I remembered the early days of my marriage.
Victor had insisted that I sign several documents during our honeymoon.
He'd said they were routine estate-planning forms.
Daniel had stood beside him, smiling.
"Just sign them, sweetheart," he'd said.
"Dad is making sure you're protected.""
I'd trusted them.
I'd signed.
Agent Collins continued.
"There's another issue. The original beneficiary information was changed six months after the company was created.""
"Changed to whom?""
She looked at me.
"Celeste Morgan.""
I went completely still.
Celeste.
The woman who had worn the diamond bracelet to my baby shower.
The woman who had announced that she was carrying Daniel's son.
The woman who had promised to take my bedroom.
"Why would she be connected to a company created before I married Daniel?""
Agent Collins closed the folder.
"That's one of the questions we're trying to answer.""
I looked at the documents again.
"Does Daniel know?""
"We don't believe he knows the full extent of the structure.""
I almost laughed.
My husband had spent years telling me I was too naive to understand his family's business.
Now federal investigators were telling me he might not even understand the business himself.
But one question remained.
"Why did Victor put my name on those accounts?""
Agent Collins hesitated.
Then she reached into her folder and removed a photograph.
It showed a man standing outside an office building.
He was older, wearing a gray coat.
I recognized him immediately.
My father.
My biological father had died when I was sixteen.
Or at least, that was what my mother had always told me.
"Where did you get this?""
Agent Collins watched my face carefully.
"This photograph was recovered from Victor Ashford's private office.""
I couldn't look away.
"Why does he have a picture of my father?""
"Because your father appears in the original financial records connected to Silvergate Holdings.""
My mouth went dry.
"That's impossible.""
"Mrs. Ashford, do you know what your father did before he died?""
"He was an accountant.""
"What kind?""
"He worked for a private investment firm.""
Agent Collins nodded slowly.
"That firm was acquired by Ashford Global twenty years ago.""
I stared at her.
Twenty years ago.
Before I had met Daniel.
Before the wedding.
Before the baby.
Before any of this.
"Are you telling me my father worked for Victor?""
"Yes.""
"Was he involved in the fraud?""
Agent Collins didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she opened another page.
"We found an internal memorandum written shortly before your father's death.""
My heart began pounding.
"What does it say?""
She turned the page toward me.
At the bottom was a handwritten note.
I recognized the handwriting.
It belonged to my father.
The note contained just one sentence.
*If anything happens to me, keep Sarah away from the Ashford family.*
I covered my mouth.
Agent Collins waited.
Then she spoke quietly.
"Sarah, there's something you need to understand. We initially believed you discovered this fraud after marrying Daniel.""
I looked at her.
"But?""
She placed another document beside the photograph.
"Your father had already reported Victor Ashford to federal authorities twenty years ago.""
My throat tightened.
"And the investigation was closed after his death.""
I stared at the handwriting.
My father had known.
He had tried to stop them.
And somehow, years later, I'd married into the very family he'd warned me to avoid.
Agent Collins leaned forward.
"There's one more thing. We found a sealed envelope in Victor's office. It was addressed to your father, but it contains your name.""
"What does it say?""
She looked toward the door.
"Before I show you, I need to ask you something.""
"What?""
"Did your mother ever tell you that your father had another child?""
I frowned.
"No.""
Agent Collins slowly removed the envelope.
"Because according to the records we recovered, your father had a daughter who was born eleven months before you.""
I stared at her.
"Who?""
She turned the envelope over.
On the front, in my father's handwriting, were four words.
*For Sarah, when she knows.*
Then Agent Collins opened it.
May you like
And the first name inside was not my mother's.
It was Celeste.
