CHAPTER 6
I thought discovering Daniel’s financial crimes would be the worst betrayal.
I was wrong.
The condominium changed something inside me.
Money could be explained away as panic.
Desperation.
Business failure.
Bad decisions.
But another home?
Another woman?
That required planning.
Rebecca told me not to contact Melissa.
So I didn’t.
I gave her the photograph, Nicole’s records, and everything I remembered about the day Melissa visited Daniel’s office.
Then I went into the bathroom and threw up.
Ava heard me.
She stood outside the door afterward.
“I’m sorry.”
I rinsed my mouth.
“For what?”
“For the barbecue.”
I stared at myself in the mirror.
My eyes looked older than they had two days earlier.
“You’ve already said that.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“I said I thought you shoved me.”
I turned.
“That wasn’t true.”
“No.”
“Why did you say it?”
She leaned against the wall.
“At lunch last week, Dad told me you were probably leaving.”
My stomach tightened.
“He knew?”
“He said you’d been acting secretive.”
“What else?”
“He said you might try to make me think he was a bad father.”
The manipulation was so obvious now that I felt embarrassed I had missed it.
“He told me if you started acting fake-nice, I should be careful.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So when we bumped into each other…”
“I was already mad.”
“And you lied.”
Ava looked down.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because I wanted him to choose me.”
That answer hurt in a completely different way.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Did you think he wouldn’t?”
“Sometimes.”
She wiped her face.
“When you came into his life, he was happier with you than I’d seen him in years.”
“That doesn’t mean he loved you less.”
“I know that now.”
“Do you?”
She shrugged.
“I don’t know anything now.”
I understood that feeling.
Ava sat beside me.
“I hated when you came to my games.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I noticed.”
“Not because I hated you.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
A tiny, sad smile.
“Mom used to come to everything.”
Then her eyes dropped.
“When you started showing up, it felt like everyone was replacing her.”
I nodded slowly.
“I wish you had told me.”
“I was thirteen.”
“Fair point.”
She looked at my empty ring finger.
“Are you really never going back?”
“Yes.”
“What if Dad fixes everything?”
“He can’t.”
“Because of Melissa?”
“Because of all of it.”
She absorbed that.
Then she whispered, “I don’t want to live with him right now.”
Nicole’s attorney filed an emergency custody request on her behalf that afternoon.
Because Ava was sixteen, the court would consider her preference.
Daniel fought immediately.
His lawyer argued that Nicole and I had influenced Ava.
The judge scheduled a hearing.
Until then, Ava was permitted to stay temporarily with Nicole after child welfare officials interviewed her.
I was relieved.
I was also terrified Daniel would blame me for everything.
He did.
The next morning, his attorney sent Rebecca a letter accusing me of alienating his daughter and stealing confidential business records.
Rebecca read it, smiled, and placed it down.
“What?”
I asked.
“He’s panicking.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because half of this is legally meaningless and the other half contradicts statements he already made.”
She tapped the letter.
“He claims you had no access to his business finances.”
“I did the bookkeeping for six months.”
“Exactly.”
She pulled out another page.
“Also, investigators obtained the trust records.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“There are payments we didn’t know about.”
“How many?”
“A lot.”
Some went to Daniel’s company.
Some went to Summit Ridge.
Several went directly toward his credit cards.
One paid for a vacation.
I stared at the date.
Cancún.
Daniel and I had gone there for our second anniversary.
My chest hurt.
“He used Ava’s trust to pay for our anniversary trip?”
“Yes.”
I felt sick again.
“I thought he surprised me.”
“He did.”
Rebecca’s expression softened.
“You didn’t know.”
“I benefited from it.”
“Without your knowledge.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
She leaned forward.
“Then help recover it.”
That became my focus.
I agreed to cooperate fully.
I provided financial records.
Emails.
Old tax returns.
Company documents Daniel had asked me to organize.
The investigators built their case quietly.
Meanwhile, Melissa disappeared from the condominium.
A process server couldn’t find her.
Daniel denied having a romantic relationship with her.
Then Rebecca received security footage from the condominium building.
Daniel entered repeatedly.
Sometimes alone.
Sometimes with Melissa.
Once, they kissed in the lobby.
I watched only three seconds.
Then I closed the video.
“That’s enough.”
Rebecca nodded.
Divorce stopped feeling like tragedy.
It became escape.
Three days later, we attended the temporary custody hearing.
Daniel sat across the courtroom wearing the navy suit I had bought him for Christmas.
When Ava entered beside Nicole, his face softened.
“Ava.”
She looked at him.
For one painful second, I saw how badly she wanted him to become her father again.
Not the thief.
Not the liar.
Just Dad.
Then Daniel whispered, “Come sit with me.”
Ava stopped.
Her attorney touched her shoulder.
She continued walking.
Daniel’s face changed.
That softness vanished.
The hearing lasted nearly two hours.
Daniel’s lawyer described Nicole as a bitter former sister-in-law.
He described me as a vengeful wife.
Then the judge asked Ava one question privately in chambers.
Afterward, everyone returned.
The judge allowed Ava to remain temporarily with Nicole while the investigation continued.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Outside the courtroom, he rushed toward Ava before security stepped between them.
“How could you do this to me?”
Ava burst into tears.
I moved before thinking.
I stepped between them.
“Don’t.”
Daniel stared at me.
“This is your fault.”
“No.”
For the first time, Ava answered him herself.
“It’s yours.”
Daniel looked at his daughter as if she had slapped him.
Then a detective approached from behind him.
“Daniel Whitmore?”
He turned.
“Yes?”
The detective held out paperwork.
“We need to speak with you regarding suspected financial exploitation, forgery, and fraudulent trust withdrawals.”
Everyone went silent.
May you like
Daniel looked at me.
And for the first time since the barbecue, he was the one who looked afraid.
