Chapter 4
I stared at the screen until the words stopped making sense.
Five days.
My father’s cabin was supposed to be sold in five days.
Without my knowledge.
Without my permission.
With my signature.
Except it wasn’t my signature.
“Send that to me.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Madison, don’t.”
She looked at him.
“You told me she agreed.”
“She did agree.”
I laughed.
“I did?”
Daniel turned to me.
“We talked about selling it.”
“No, you talked about selling it.”
“And you said you would think about it.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“You never use the place.”
My hands started shaking.
The cabin was more than a property.
My father had built the back deck himself.
He had taught me to fish from the dock.
The summer before he died, we sat outside under an old blanket and watched lightning move over the lake.
Daniel knew all of that.
He knew exactly what the place meant to me.
And he had still tried to sell it.
“For how much?” I asked.
Madison looked at the listing agreement.
“Eight hundred twenty-five thousand.”
My mouth went dry.
The property was worth more than a million.
“Why so low?”
Madison hesitated.
Daniel barked, “Enough.”
I stepped closer to her.
“Why so low?”
She swallowed.
“Cash buyer.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Richard spoke from behind us.
“I do.”
Daniel looked like he wanted to disappear.
Richard walked over and studied Madison’s phone.
“Magnus Holdings.”
Lauren frowned.
“You know them?”
Richard nodded.
“It’s one of Daniel’s shell companies.”
The room exploded again.
Daniel pointed at his father.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“I know because you tried to use one of my accountants to register it.”
My stomach twisted.
“So he was selling my cabin to himself?”
“Possibly.”
“For eight hundred twenty-five thousand dollars?”
Richard nodded slowly.
“And once the title moved, the company could potentially refinance it at market value.”
Lauren looked at me.
“Which means he could extract more cash.”
I felt sick.
Daniel shouted, “It was part of a restructuring plan!”
“A restructuring plan?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“For my father’s cabin?”
“For our finances!”
I walked right up to him.
“No.”
My voice was quiet now.
Dangerously quiet.
“My house. My trust. My cabin.”
I pointed at his chest.
“Those are not our finances.”
“You’re my wife.”
“And you’re apparently a thief.”
His face changed.
For one second, I thought he might yell.
Instead he lowered his voice.
“You’re emotional.”
I stared at him.
That sentence felt almost funny.
He had cheated for three years.
Gotten another woman pregnant.
Forged my signature.
Taken money from my trust.
Borrowed against my house.
Tried to sell my cabin.
And now I was emotional.
“You haven’t seen emotional.”
My phone rang.
Lauren handed it to me.
David.
I answered immediately.
“Emily?”
His voice was calm.
That helped.
“Lauren told me a little. Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Is Daniel with you?”
“Yes.”
“Do not leave with him.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“I need you to listen carefully. Do not sign anything. Do not agree to anything verbally. Do not let him access your phone, laptop, purse, identification, or keys.”
Daniel heard enough to understand who was on the line.
He looked furious.
David continued.
“Can you get somewhere secure tonight?”
“My sister’s.”
“Good. I want copies of every document you have. The loan paper, the listing agreement, anything related to your trust.”
“There’s a flash drive.”
Richard looked at me.
“What’s on it?” David asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Do not plug it into your personal computer. Bring it to me.”
“I’m coming now.”
“I’ll be here.”
I hung up.
Daniel immediately said, “You’re making a mistake.”
I put my phone in my purse.
“My biggest mistake is standing right in front of me.”
He flinched.
For the first time all night, I saw real pain in his face.
A small part of me hated myself for noticing.
This was still the man I had loved.
The man who made pancakes on Sunday mornings.
The man who sat beside my hospital bed after my second procedure failed.
The man who held me while I cried after my father’s funeral.
Except maybe that man had never existed.
Maybe he was only another version of Daniel’s story.
One designed specifically for me.
Lauren grabbed her coat.
“We’re leaving.”
Patricia hurried toward me.
“Emily, please.”
I stopped.
She reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
She looked crushed.
“I love you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
She started crying again.
“I thought he would end it.”
“For eight months?”
“I kept pushing him.”
“You also kept inviting me to dinner.”
“I didn’t know how to fix it.”
“You weren’t supposed to fix it.”
My voice broke.
“You were supposed to give me the truth.”
She had no answer.
I turned away.
Then Richard said, “Emily.”
I looked back.
He held out a small envelope.
“What’s that?”
“Copies of the company documents I found.”
Daniel rushed forward.
“You cannot give her those.”
Richard stared at him.
“Watch me.”
I took the envelope.
Daniel looked at his father with pure hatred.
“You’re destroying everything.”
Richard’s face went still.
“No, son.”
“You did that yourself.”
Lauren and I walked into the hallway.
Behind us, I heard Madison call Daniel’s name.
Then a chair scraped.
Then voices rose again.
I didn’t turn around.
Not until the elevator doors opened.
Just before I stepped inside, someone grabbed my arm.
I spun around.
Madison.
Lauren immediately moved between us.
“Let go of her.”
Madison released me.
“I’m not trying to fight.”
“Then what do you want?” I asked.
She glanced down the hallway.
Daniel hadn’t followed her.
“I lied.”
I stared at her.
“About what?”
“The pregnancy.”
My stomach dropped.
“What about it?”
She lowered her voice.
“I’m pregnant.”
I waited.
“But I don’t know if Daniel is the father.”
I couldn’t speak.
Lauren whispered, “Wow.”
Madison’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was going to tell him after tonight.”
“You were going to announce a baby that might not be his?”
“He pressured me.”
“For what?”
“To tell everyone.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted his father to release the next investment.”
Richard’s company money.
Suddenly the birthday dinner looked different again.
Not a celebration.
Not even a divorce announcement.
A performance.
Daniel wanted to stand in front of his family with a pregnant girlfriend and a new life.
Maybe he believed Richard would see the baby as a reason to save him again.
“He was using the pregnancy?”
Madison nodded.
“He said his father would never let the mother of his grandchild lose her home.”
The condo.
I almost admired the cruelty of it.
Almost.
“Who else could be the father?”
Madison looked embarrassed.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to Daniel.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I don’t owe you that information.”
“No.”
I nodded.
“You don’t.”
She seemed surprised.
I continued.
“But you do owe me something.”
“What?”
“Every message he sent you about my money.”
She stared at me.
“I could get dragged into this.”
“You already are.”
“I didn’t know he forged anything.”
“Then prove it.”
The elevator doors began closing.
I stopped them with my hand.
Madison hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“I’ll send everything.”
“Tonight.”
“Yes.”
I stepped into the elevator.
Madison remained outside.
Then she said one more thing.
“He has another phone.”
I froze.
“What?”
“A black iPhone.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“He keeps it at the condo.”
“Why?”
“I thought it was for work.”
Lauren and I looked at each other.
Madison continued.
“The code is 0614.”
My wedding date.
Of course it was.
The doors closed.
For the first time all night, I was alone with my sister.
I leaned against the elevator wall.
My legs started shaking.
Lauren immediately wrapped both arms around me.
That was when I finally cried.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
I buried my face against her shoulder and sobbed like something inside my body had torn open.
“How did I not know?”
Lauren held me tighter.
“Because he worked hard to make sure you didn’t.”
“I slept next to him.”
“I know.”
“I told him everything.”
“I know.”
“I trusted him.”
“I know.”
When the elevator opened into the lobby, I wiped my face.
“I’m done crying.”
Lauren looked at me.
“You don’t have to be.”
“Yes, I do.”
I took a breath.
“Because now I need to think.”
We drove straight to David’s office.
Chicago lights moved past the car windows.
My phone kept vibrating.
Daniel.
Again.
Again.
Again.
I ignored him.
Then a text appeared.
You’re going to regret involving lawyers.
I showed Lauren.
“Screenshot it.”
I did.
Another message came.
My father has no idea what he gave you.
Then another.
That flash drive contains stolen information.
Then another.
If you open it, you could destroy both of us.
I stared at the last sentence.
Both of us.
Not him.
Us.
I typed nothing.
Lauren glanced at me.
“What are you thinking?”
I looked out at the city.
“I’m thinking he’s scared of what’s on that drive.”
David was waiting when we arrived.
He wore jeans and a wrinkled white shirt.
His office looked completely different after hours.
No receptionist.
No assistants.
Just one lamp glowing in the conference room.
He took the documents.
Then the flash drive.
He read Daniel’s texts.
His expression became increasingly serious.
Finally he looked at me.
“Emily, I’m going to ask you a question.”
“Okay.”
“Did Daniel ever ask you to be an officer of his company?”
“No.”
“A director?”
“No.”
“Did you ever sign company documents?”
“No.”
“Did you ever personally guarantee company debt?”
“No.”
He turned the laptop toward me.
“Then we have a problem.”
On the screen was a corporate filing.
My name appeared halfway down the page.
Emily Carter.
Chief Financial Officer.
My blood ran cold.
“I’ve never been his CFO.”
David nodded.
“I believe you.”
He opened another document.
A bank authorization.
Another signature.
Mine.
Except not mine.
Then he opened a third file.
And I saw a transfer authorization for $1.2 million.
The receiving account belonged to a company I had never heard of.
David clicked into the ownership record.
The company had been created eleven months earlier.
Its owner was listed as Emily Carter.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Daniel hadn’t just stolen from me.
He had built an entire paper trail designed to make it look like I had helped him.
