Chapter 4 - THE COUSIN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Matias Darks arrived at the estate forty minutes after Valyrian summoned him.
He expected an argument about family business.
Instead, he found Alicia sitting beneath a blanket while Valyrian stood beside the fireplace holding a photograph.
Matias stopped smiling.
"Where did you get that?"
Valyrian approached him.
"Why were you meeting my wife outside a courthouse?"
Matias glanced at Alicia.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Valyrian noticed.
"Don't look at her. Answer me."
Matias took a breath.
"Because she asked for help."
"With what?"
"Legal documents."
"What documents?"
Alicia spoke quietly.
"Valyrian, sit down."
He turned toward her.
"Not this time."
She looked exhausted.
"Especially this time."
Something about her voice made him obey.
Matias removed a sealed envelope from his coat.
"Three months ago, Alicia discovered that several of your father's companies had been used to move money into private medical facilities."
Valyrian frowned.
"My father owned dozens of properties."
"These transfers continued after his death."
Matias placed the documents on the table.
"Millions of dollars."
Valyrian scanned the statements.
The signatures were familiar.
His father's.
His own.
And Caleum's.
He looked up sharply.
"I never authorized these payments."
"We know," Matias said.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because someone had copied your signature, your security credentials, and your private correspondence."
Valyrian remembered the missing messages.
The strange distance in his marriage.
The forged divorce discussions.
"What were you planning?"
Matias looked toward Alicia.
"She wanted to expose whoever was controlling the accounts before they could destroy the evidence."
Valyrian turned to his wife.
"You were investigating my family while fighting cancer?"
Alicia's smile was heartbreaking.
"I had a lot of time during treatment."
He stared at her.
She continued.
"At first, I thought the money was being stolen. Then I found the clinic."
"Where my mother is?"
Alicia nodded.
"But there was something worse."
Matias opened another folder.
Inside were old insurance policies.
Valyrian's name appeared on several pages.
His father's name appeared on another.
Then Valyrian saw Alicia's name.
The policy had been created eight months earlier.
Two months before her diagnosis.
It carried a death benefit of twenty million dollars.
Valyrian looked at her.
"Did you know about this?"
Alicia nodded.
"I found it after the threats began."
"Who signed it?"
Matias pointed toward the bottom of the page.
The signature looked exactly like Valyrian's.
He stared at it.
"I didn't sign this."
"We know."
Valyrian felt something cold spreading through his chest.
Someone had insured his wife's life without either spouse's knowledge.
Someone who knew her medical appointments.
Someone who stood to gain if she died.
Then Matias turned to the final page.
"The beneficiary isn't you."
Valyrian read the name.
His face hardened.
May you like
Caleum Mercer.
And the policy included a provision that made Alicia's death financially valuable to the man who had encouraged their divorce.
