Chapter 9 - THE MONEY DANIEL HID
Daniel had not lost all the investors’ money.
He had moved a large portion of it.
That possibility turned a toxic family drama into something far more serious.
I did not investigate the offshore account myself.
I gave the information to Priya.
She advised me to preserve what I had and avoid interfering with any formal investigation.
That was fine with me.
I wanted out.
Not revenge.
Mark, however, was panicking.
“If Daniel finds out I told you—”
“He forged my signature.”
“I know.”
“Then maybe stop protecting him.”
Mark looked like I had slapped him.
For six years, his entire family had treated loyalty as silence.
If someone lied, protect them.
If someone stole, cover them.
If someone humiliated you, smile because family comes first.
I had finally learned the difference between loyalty and complicity.
The next day, Vanessa appeared at my office.
No makeup.
No designer bag.
No smirk.
She closed the door behind her.
“I need to tell you something.”
I waited.
“The crab dinner was planned.”
“I know.”
Her eyes widened.
“Mom wanted to provoke you.”
“Why?”
“She thought if you got angry enough, you’d say something Mark could use.”
“Use for what?”
Vanessa began crying.
“The divorce.”
My stomach went cold.
“What divorce?”
“Mark talked about leaving you months ago.”
I felt nothing at first.
Then everything.
“Why didn’t he?”
“Because of money.”
Of course.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“He thought if he could reach the trust first, he’d have more leverage.”
I stared at her.
“And the dinner?”
“Mom wanted witnesses that you were unstable.”
I almost laughed.
They had staged an empty plate to bait me into a public meltdown.
Instead, I had smiled and left.
Their trap failed because I refused to perform the role they had written for me.
“Why tell me now?”
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“Because Daniel called me this morning.”
“What did he want?”
“He said we need to destroy old family records.”
My posture changed.
“What records?”
“The LLC files.”
“Anything else?”
She nodded.
“The mortgage paperwork.”
May you like
Then she said the part that made my skin crawl.
“And the copies of your signature Mark gave him.”
