By noon, the cabinet had become the most important object in the house.
Security photographed every document before moving anything.
Marcus had called another attorney, and the two of them worked at the dining table while I sat across from them with my grandfather's notebook.
The phrase Phase Two kept circling in my mind.
I couldn't stop wondering what Phase One had been.
“Could Phase One have been the marriage?” I asked.
Marcus looked up.
“Possibly.”
“And Phase Two?”
“Access to the assets.”
I looked down at the dates.
Some of them went back five years.
Daniel and I had been married for six.
That meant the plan had begun almost immediately.
I felt a dull ache behind my eyes.
The corporate attorney, Laura Bennett, picked up one of the payment records.
“These payments aren't random.”
“What are they?”
“Consulting fees.”
“Paid by Daniel?”
“Some.”
She pointed to another line.
“Some were paid by Richard.”
“To whom?”
“A company called Vantage Advisory.”
I had never heard of it.
Marcus nodded toward the security consultant.
“Look into the company.”
The consultant made a note.
Laura turned another page.
“This is more concerning.”
“What?”
“Vantage Advisory was incorporated shortly after Daniel began discussing your grandfather's health.”
I stared at her.
“Coincidence?”
“Maybe.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not likely.”
I picked up the document.
The company had no employees listed.
Its registered address was a small office downtown.
Its director was a man named Thomas Reed.
The name meant nothing to me.
But Marcus reacted.
“You know him?”
“Not personally.”
His expression tightened.
“But your grandfather mentioned him.”
I looked at the notebook.
“Where?”
Marcus found the page.
There.
Thomas Reed. Introduced by Richard. Claims expertise in succession planning. Avoid direct contact.
My skin prickled.
“Three names.”
“Daniel. Richard. Thomas.”
“And Tiffany.”
“Yes.”
I thought about the photograph from three years earlier.
Richard.
Daniel.
Thomas.
All outside Hawthorne Tower.
My grandfather had seen them.
He had known.
Yet he had still said nothing.
I understood why now.
If he had confronted Daniel without evidence, Daniel would have denied everything.
He might have destroyed the records.
He might have disappeared.
Or he might have convinced me that my grandfather was interfering with my marriage.
My grandfather had waited for proof.
Now I wished he hadn't needed to.
The doorbell rang.
Everyone froze.
The security officer went to the monitor.
“It's Daniel.”
My pulse quickened.
“Did he come alone?”
The officer checked.
“One vehicle.”
“Let him wait outside.”
Marcus looked at me.
“You don't have to see him.”
“I know.”
I stood.
“But I want to.”
Daniel was standing on the porch when I opened the inner door.
He looked tired.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes were bloodshot.
For the first time, he looked less like the confident man who had ordered me out and more like someone who had realized the ground beneath him was moving.
“Emily.”
“Daniel.”
He glanced past me.
“You're really back.”
“Yes.”
“This is still my home.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“Can we talk?”
“We're talking.”
“Privately.”
“No.”
He looked toward Marcus.
“You brought lawyers into our marriage.”
“No,” I said. “You brought lawyers into our marriage.”
He stared at me.
“I want to see the kids.”
“You can arrange that.”
“I am their father.”
“And I am their mother.”
“I have rights.”
“So do they.”
He looked away.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Emily, I know you're angry.”
“I am.”
“But this isn't what you think.”
“Then explain.”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me more than his words would have.
“You were under pressure,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Your company is in debt.”
His face changed.
“Who told you?”
“Is that your answer?”
“I didn't want you involved.”
“You involved me when you planned to use my inheritance.”
His eyes widened.
“I never—”
“Don't.”
I held up my hand.
“Not here.”
His voice dropped.
“Who showed you those documents?”
I didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
“Emily, listen to me. Richard made promises. Things got out of control.”
“So Richard is responsible?”
“No.”
“You just said he made promises.”
“I didn't mean—”
“You don't know what you're saying anymore.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“Tiffany was a mistake.”
“Was she?”
“Yes.”
“She knew about the plan.”
He went still.
That was enough.
I watched his face.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For answering without speaking.”
He looked at me.
“Please.”
It was the first time I had heard fear in his voice.
But I couldn't let fear make me forget what he had done.
“You need to leave.”
“I have nowhere to go.”
“That isn't my responsibility.”
He flinched.
I had heard those exact words from him two days earlier.
Now I understood how cruel they sounded when someone else said them.
“Emily.”
“Leave.”
He walked down the steps.
At the gate, he turned.
“One day you'll understand why I did it.”
I almost called him back.
Then I remembered the email.
She will be easier to control after the marriage is dissolved.
I closed the door.
Marcus stood behind me.
“You all right?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“But I will be.”
That afternoon, the investigators found the first concrete connection between Vantage Advisory and Richard.
Money had moved through several accounts.
Payments from Daniel.
Payments from Richard.
And one payment from an account connected to Tiffany.
The amounts weren't enormous individually.
Together, they formed a pattern.
They had paid for information.
My grandfather had suspected it.
Now we had proof.
Laura placed a chart on the table.
“This is the money trail.”
I stared.
Daniel's debt.
Richard's transfers.
Vantage Advisory.
The inheritance.
All of it connected.
But one question remained.
“What was Thomas Reed actually doing?”
The security consultant answered.
“According to public records, he specializes in asset restructuring.”
“Meaning?”
“Moving ownership around so creditors can't reach it.”
Laura nodded.
“And that's exactly what Daniel needed.”
I felt sick.
“He wanted to move my inheritance.”
“Eventually.”
“And the house?”
“Part of the plan.”
I looked toward the library.
My grandfather had protected the house because he understood what it represented.
Not just property.
A barrier.
A piece of the estate Daniel couldn't touch.
My phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
“Hello?”
A man's voice finally came through.
“You should stop looking.”
My heart stopped.
“Who is this?”
“You don't know me.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because your grandfather understood something you don't.”
“What?”
“He knew money attracts people who aren't afraid to wait.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Marcus took it from my hand.
“Did you recognize the voice?”
“No.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“Not directly.”
He looked at the others.
“We need to move her.”
“I don't want to leave.”
“You may not have a choice.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Emily—”
“My children are at my sister's house.”
“That is exactly why I'm asking you to move.”
I looked at him.
“Then increase security there.”
He nodded.
That evening, my sister brought the children home.
My daughter looked at me.
“Why are there men outside?”
“Security.”
“Are we in trouble?”
“No.”
“Then why do we need security?”
I knelt.
“Because Grandpa left me something important.”
“What?”
“A responsibility.”
She frowned.
“That sounds boring.”
I smiled.
“It can be.”
My son came running into the room.
“Mom, Dad called.”
I froze.
“What did he say?”
“He said he wants to talk to you.”
I exchanged a glance with my sister.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Daniel.
I found out what Richard has been doing. We need to talk before it's too late.
I read it twice.
Then another message arrived.
He doesn't know I kept copies.
Marcus read over my shoulder.
“That's interesting.”
“What?”
“Daniel claims he has copies of the records.”
“Could he?”
“Possibly.”
“Then maybe he isn't the only person who can expose Richard.”
Marcus nodded.
I looked at the message.
For the first time, I wondered whether Daniel had become trapped by the people he thought he was using.
Maybe Richard had never been his partner.
Maybe Richard had been using Daniel too.
That night, Marcus received a call.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then he looked at me.
“The man in your grandfather's photograph has been identified.”
My pulse quickened.
“Thomas Reed?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Marcus gave me the name.
“Elliot Crane.”
I stared.
“Who is he?”
“A former executive who worked for your grandfather.”
“And now?”
Marcus paused.
“Now he works for Richard.”
I felt the room grow colder.
Then Marcus added something worse.
“Elliot was the person who had access to the estate's internal succession records.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: The Man With Access to My Grandfather’s Succession Records Knew Exactly What I Was Supposed to Inherit Before I Did
The Divorce Papers Were Only the First Thing He Took From Me That Afternoon, and the Last Thing He Expected Me to Question
Part 6 of 20
