Chapter 6: What Adrian Hid
We went to Daniel's office before midnight.
The city outside was dark and wet, headlights sliding across the windows like pale ribbons.
A laptop sat open on the conference table.
Daniel placed a stack of documents beside it.
“Before I show you anything,” he said, “you need to understand that some of this may be difficult.””
I pulled out a chair.
“After tonight, I don't think difficult scares me anymore.””
Marcus sat beside me.
Julian and Caleb stood behind us.
Daniel opened the first file.
“The second account was established six months after your wedding.””
I frowned.
“Whose name?””
“Yours.””
I stared at him.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It was opened using your identification.””
“Did I sign anything?””
“No.””
Daniel turned the laptop toward me.
A scanned signature appeared on the screen.
My signature.
Almost perfect.
Except for one detail.
The final stroke was wrong.
I remembered something.
Adrian used to handle all our paperwork.
Tax forms.
Insurance.
Bank documents.
Whenever I asked questions, he'd say, “Just trust me.””
I felt sick.
“He forged my signature.””
Daniel nodded.
“More than once.””
Adrian hadn't simply stolen money.
He had built an entire financial life around my name.
Julian slammed his palm against the table.
“That bastard.””
Caleb leaned toward the screen.
“What are those transfers?””
Daniel opened another file.
“Payments.””
“To whom?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Private investigators.””
My heart stopped.
“Investigating who?””
“You.””
I stared at him.
“Me?””
He nodded.
“Your husband hired investigators to monitor your communications, movements, and contact with your family.””
Marcus's chair scraped backward.
“He was stalking her.””
Daniel looked at me.
“There is more.””
He opened a folder.
Photographs appeared.
Me leaving work.
Me sitting alone at a coffee shop.
Me visiting a grocery store.
Me standing outside my parents' old neighborhood.
My hands went cold.
I hadn't known anyone was watching.
Then one photograph appeared that made me stop breathing.
It was taken eight years earlier.
I was standing outside my parents' house.
I was crying.
In my hand was a letter.
Daniel said quietly, “You went there.””
I nodded.
“I remember.””
“What happened?””
I stared at the photograph.
“Adrian told me my father didn't want to see me.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Did Dad come outside?””
“No.””
Daniel zoomed in.
A second figure was visible behind the curtains.
An older man.
My father.
I covered my mouth.
“He was there.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Why didn't he come outside?””
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he opened another document.
“This is the letter your father sent Adrian that night.””
My hands shook.
“What did it say?””
Daniel read the first line.
“If you love my daughter, let her come home.”
Silence.
Then the second.
“If you prevent her from contacting us again, I will take legal action.”
My eyes filled.
“What did Adrian do?””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“He threatened your father.””
“With what?””
Daniel slid one final photograph across the table.
It showed Adrian standing beside my father's car.
A broken windshield.
A note tucked beneath the wiper.
I picked it up.
The words were visible even through the photograph.
*Stay away from Claire, or you'll lose more than her.*
Marcus's face went white.
“He threatened Dad.””
Daniel nodded.
“And your father was preparing to expose him.””
“When?””
“The week before he died.””
I froze.
“My father died in an accident.””
Daniel's silence was answer enough.
I pushed my chair back.
“No.””
Daniel's voice softened.
“I never said it wasn't an accident.””
“But you think it wasn't.””
“I think your father was investigating Adrian until the day he died.””
The room fell silent.
Then Caleb's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?””
His expression changed.
He looked at me.
“It's the police.””
I stood.
“What happened?””
Caleb lowered the phone.
“They arrested someone tonight.””
“Who?””
He stared at me.
“Adrian's private investigator.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
Caleb swallowed.
“They found something in his storage unit.””
“What?””
He looked at Daniel.
May you like
Then back at me.
“Evidence connected to your father's death.””
