Chapter 2 - THE MONEY IN MY NAME
I couldn't stop staring at the statement.
Seven years earlier.
I had barely known Adrian.
We had been dating for less than a year.
The amount was enormous.
$185,000.
“What is this?” I asked.
Adrian didn't answer.
Maren looked between us.
“He told me it was part of your family's money.”
I turned toward her.
“My family doesn't have money like this.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“It wasn't your money.”
“Then why is my name on the account?”
“I used your information.”
My mouth went dry.
“You used my identity?”
“It wasn't like that.”
“What exactly was it like?”
He lowered his voice.
“I needed a name that wouldn't attract attention.”
I stepped back.
“You forged documents?”
“No.”
“You opened an account under my name.”
“Yes.”
“That is fraud.”
“I was trying to protect Maren.”
“From what?”
He looked at her.
Maren shook her head.
“You never told me.”
Adrian walked to the window.
For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
“There was someone looking for her.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
I turned toward Maren.
“Who was looking for you?”
She wiped her eyes.
“My father.”
I frowned.
“Adrian is her father.”
“Not my biological father.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Adrian.
He nodded.
“I raised her.”
“But she's not your daughter?”
“She is my daughter.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Maren spoke softly.
“My biological father disappeared when I was little.”
Adrian looked at the floor.
“He was dangerous.”
“What was his name?”
Maren hesitated.
“Graham Vale.”
The name meant nothing to me.
But Adrian reacted immediately.
His face changed.
I noticed.
“You know him.”
Adrian swallowed.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
It was my bank.
I answered.
“Ms. Cole?”
“Yes?”
“We need to verify a recent request against your account.”
“What request?”
“A wire transfer.”
“How much?”
“$250,000.”
My blood ran cold.
“I didn't authorize that.”
“I understand. But the request was submitted using your security credentials.”
“When?”
“About twenty minutes ago.”
I looked at Adrian.
He was watching me.
“You didn't make that transfer, did you?”
“No.”
The bank representative paused.
“Then you need to know something else.”
“What?”
“The transfer is scheduled to go through tomorrow morning.”
“Can you stop it?”
“We're trying.”
I ended the call.
Adrian stepped toward me.
“Hannah—”
“Don't come near me.”
He stopped.
I showed him the phone.
“Someone is trying to move $250,000 out of my account.”
His expression changed.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Maren suddenly whispered:
“Graham.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“That’s how he operates.”
Adrian turned sharply.
“Maren, don't.”
“He finds people through their money.”
I stared at my husband.
“Why would Graham care about my money?”
Adrian said nothing.
Maren looked at him.
“Because you used Hannah's identity.”
The room became silent.
Then Adrian finally admitted the truth.
Seven years ago, he hadn't simply met Maren.
He had been helping her disappear.
And the identity he had used to hide her was mine.
Before I could process that, the hospital doors downstairs slammed open.
Security personnel rushed toward the maternity wing.
A nurse ran past us.
Someone had entered the building asking for Maren.
May you like
And he had given the receptionist a name that made Adrian's blood run cold.
Graham Vale.
