Chapter 9 - The Threat Against Hailey
I read the sentence until the words blurred.
Use the child.
There was no ambiguity left. Hailey had become a bargaining chip in a financial war I hadn't known existed.
Rachel immediately contacted the appropriate authorities and advised me to preserve every message and document. We strengthened the security around the house and informed the hospital that no one besides the authorized parents could collect information about Hailey.
Liam arrived that evening.
When I showed him the message, he looked as though someone had struck him.
“Richard would never hurt a baby.”
“You don't get to decide what a man will do when his own words say otherwise.”
“He's trying to scare me.”
“Then why did someone forge my signature? Why did Vanessa try to access Hailey's records?”
He lowered his head.
“I thought I could handle the business problems without bringing them home.”
“You brought them into our marriage. You brought them into our daughter's life.”
He reached toward Hailey's bassinet, then stopped when he saw my expression.
“I want to make this right.”
“You can start by telling Rachel everything you know.”
For the next hour, Liam described his dealings with Richard. He admitted that he had agreed to a future marriage arrangement with Vanessa because he believed it would protect his company.
He insisted he had never knowingly authorized the use of my identity.
Rachel recorded his account and instructed him to provide his business records through proper legal channels.
Then Liam remembered something.
“Richard's attorney sent me an amendment last month. He said it was routine.”
“Did you sign it?” Rachel asked.
“Yes.”
“What did it authorize?”
Liam searched his phone and found the document.
The amendment contained a clause granting Richard temporary authority over certain company assets if Liam's marriage ended before the transaction closed.
Rachel read it twice.
Then she looked at me.
May you like
“Your husband didn't just agree to leave you,” she said.
“He may have signed away control of his company in exchange for a divorce that hasn't even happened yet.”
