Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Derek moved first.
He crossed the room so fast Noah had to block him with one arm.
“Get out of my house.”
Daniel glanced around.
“Claire’s name is on the deed.”
Derek pointed toward the door.
“All of you. Now.”
I almost laughed.
For eleven years, Derek had used anger like a weapon.
He raised his voice, and restaurant managers gave him free meals.
He slammed doors, and employees apologized.
He threatened lawsuits, and contractors lowered their bills.
His anger worked because people believed his confidence.
Tonight, nobody did.
Marcus calmly collected the documents.
“Derek, if Silver Vale was properly disclosed, tomorrow will be inconvenient.”
“And if it wasn’t?” I asked.
Marcus looked directly at Derek.
“Tomorrow becomes expensive.”
Vanessa suddenly snapped.
“Stop talking like I stole something.”
Ethan looked up.
“Didn’t you?”
“I provided consulting services.”
“What services?”
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Ethan turned the laptop around again.
“Marketing strategy?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
He clicked into another folder.
“I checked the public metadata on twelve presentations Silver Vale delivered to Derek’s company.”
Vanessa’s expression tightened.
“Every one of them was created from templates purchased online.”
Derek swore.
Ethan continued.
“Several still had the original template author’s name embedded in the file properties.”
Vanessa looked at Derek.
“You told me nobody would look.”
There it was again.
Not denial.
Blame.
Daniel’s eyes sharpened.
“Nobody would look at what?”
Vanessa realized her mistake.
“I’m done.”
She headed toward the front door.
Sophie whispered, “Mom?”
I looked down.
“What is it?”
She stared toward Vanessa’s purse.
“The scissors.”
Vanessa stopped.
Every adult in the room looked at Sophie.
“She put them in her bag,” Sophie said.
Vanessa’s face hardened.
“You little—”
“Finish that sentence,” Noah said.
Vanessa didn’t.
I stepped between her and my daughter.
“You’re leaving now.”
Derek turned on me.
“You don’t get to order people out of my house.”
“This is Sophie’s home.”
“Not if you can’t afford it.”
The room became silent again.
That sentence wasn’t shouted.
It was spoken calmly.
Which made it worse.
Derek looked around at my brothers, then back at me.
“You think they can scare me? Fine. Let’s talk numbers.”
He pointed at me.
“She hasn’t worked full-time in eight years. The mortgage, school, cars, vacations—I paid for everything.”
“That’s not true,” I said.
“It’s close enough.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
He knew what was coming.
Derek smiled.
“If Claire wants a divorce, she can have one. But she isn’t getting this house, and she isn’t taking Sophie from me.”
Sophie began crying again.
I felt something inside me go perfectly still.
Daniel stepped forward.
“You should not discuss custody in front of the child.”
Derek ignored him.
“In fact, Claire, maybe we should explain why you really stopped working.”
My stomach tightened.
That was the first moment all night when Derek found a weapon that actually frightened me.
He saw it.
And smiled wider.
Marcus looked at me.
“Claire?”
Derek laughed.
“She didn’t tell you?”
“Derek.”
“No, they came here to save you. Let’s tell them what they’re saving.”
He walked toward the kitchen island and picked up his phone.
“Eight years ago, Claire wasn’t some helpless stay-at-home mom.”
I could hear my heartbeat.
“She was chief financial officer of a startup.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“We know.”
Derek unlocked his phone.
“Do you know why she left?”
I said his name again.
Quietly.
“Derek.”
He held the phone up.
“Because the company collapsed.”
Nobody moved.
“And investigators believed someone manipulated the books.”
He looked directly at me.
“Guess whose signature was on them.”
Sophie stared at me.
“Mommy?”
Derek smiled.
For the first time that night, he looked confident again.
May you like
Then Luke asked the question that made his smile vanish.
“Where did you get that file?”
