Chapter 7: The Folder
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
“My father?””
Daniel nodded once.
“Your father knew.””
Rachel looked at me.
“What does your father have to do with this?””
I couldn't answer.
My father had been dead for six years.
He had never met Daniel more than a handful of times before his death.
Daniel tightened his grip on the folder.
“He knew about the debt.””
“What debt?””
“The business debt. The gambling. All of it.””
I climbed the first step.
“You're lying.””
Daniel backed away.
“I have proof.””
“Then bring it downstairs.””
“No.””
“Daniel.””
He looked toward the hallway behind him.
“I need to leave.””
Rachel stepped inside the doorway.
“You're not leaving with that.””
Daniel glared at her.
“You ruined everything.””
“You ruined everything.””
His eyes returned to me.
“Emily, listen to me.””
“No. You listen.””
I climbed another step.
“You forged my signature.””
He flinched.
“You stole money from our account.””
“I borrowed it.””
“You tried to mortgage our house.””
“I was going to fix it.””
“You cheated on me.””
His face went still.
Rachel looked away.
“And now you're telling me my dead father was involved?””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“He wasn't innocent.””
I stopped halfway up the stairs.
“What did he do?””
Daniel glanced at the folder.
“Your father invested in my company.””
I frowned.
“My father never invested in your company.””
“He did.””
“How much?””
“Two hundred thousand.””
I shook my head.
“That money came from his retirement account.””
Daniel nodded.
“He put it in the business.””
“Why didn't I know?””
“Because he didn't want you to.””
“Why?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Because he knew you would never approve.””
The house seemed to shrink around me.
“My father trusted you?””
“He trusted me enough.””
Rachel stepped closer.
“Daniel, stop twisting this.””
He snapped, “You don't know anything.””
“I know you showed me those documents.””
“What documents?””
Rachel looked at me.
“The ones proving Emily's father transferred the money.””
I stared at Daniel.
“Where did my father send it?””
“Into the company.””
“Your company?””
“Yes.””
“And where is it now?””
Daniel looked away.
“Gone.””
The word landed like a stone.
“How?””
He didn't answer.
I climbed the remaining stairs.
“Give me the folder.””
Daniel held it against his chest.
“No.””
I reached for it.
He pulled back.
Rachel moved beside me.
“Daniel, give it to her.””
He shook his head.
“You don't understand what's in there.””
“Then explain it.””
“It will destroy her.””
I looked directly at him.
“My life is already destroyed.””
He stared at me.
“No. You don't understand.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were bank statements, contracts, emails, and photographs.
Then I saw a familiar signature.
My father's.
I reached for the page.
Daniel pulled it away.
“Not yet.””
“Give it to me.””
“Your father made a deal with me.””
“What deal?””
Daniel's eyes filled with panic.
“He said if the company failed, you would inherit the remaining assets.””
I stared at him.
“What assets?””
“The house.””
My heart stopped.
“Our house?””
“Yes.””
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It does if you understand the trust.””
“What trust?””
Daniel said nothing.
Rachel stepped forward.
“Emily, your father may have put the house into a family trust before he died.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Is that true?””
He nodded.
“And you knew?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Since before we got married.””
I felt something inside me turn cold.
“You knew my father had placed our house in a trust?””
“Yes.””
“And you married me anyway?””
He looked hurt.
“Don't say it like that.””
“How should I say it?””
“I loved you.””
Rachel laughed bitterly.
Daniel glared at her.
I didn't look away from him.
“You knew about the trust before we got married.””
“Yes.””
“And you knew I would eventually inherit control.””
“Yes.””
“So this wasn't about my money.””
He hesitated.
“What was it about?””
Daniel's silence was enough.
I stepped closer.
“You married me because of the house.””
“No.””
“Then why did you know about the trust?””
“Because your father told me.””
My chest tightened.
“When?””
“Three months before your wedding.””
I stared at him.
My father had died believing Daniel loved me.
Maybe he had been wrong.
Or maybe there was something Daniel wasn't telling me.
I grabbed the folder.
This time, he let go.
Pages spilled across the floor.
One document landed face-up.
At the bottom was my father's signature.
Above it were three words:
*Beneficiary: Emily Harrison.*
But beneath my father's signature was another name.
Daniel's.
I picked it up.
“Why is your name here?””
Daniel went pale.
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
It was my father's old attorney.
I hadn't spoken to him in years.
I answered.
“Hello?””
His voice was unusually tense.
“Emily, I need you to listen carefully.””
“What happened?””
“I just received a notification that someone accessed your father's trust records tonight.””
My eyes moved to Daniel.
May you like
The attorney continued.
“And whoever accessed them was using Daniel's credentials.””
