Chapter 4
My attorney, Helen Brooks, came to the hospital the next morning.
She had been Richard’s lawyer before he became too sick to manage his affairs.
“He planned for this,” Helen said.
Richard had left copies of everything.
Not only the bank records.
There were business emails showing Daniel had moved money from his architecture firm into private accounts.
There were messages between Daniel and Vanessa discussing a plan to blame me for missing funds.
There was even a document showing Daniel had tried to alter Richard’s will.
“He wanted your inheritance and his father’s assets,” Helen said.
“And Margaret?”
Helen sighed.
“Richard believed she knew Daniel was hiding money. He did not know whether she helped him.”
I looked out the hospital window.
My skin hurt.
But something inside me felt clearer than it had in years.
“Then we find out.”
Helen filed for an emergency protective order.
The police opened an investigation into the fraud.
The board of Daniel’s firm was notified.
By evening, Daniel’s office had been searched.
His accounts were frozen.
And Vanessa had been escorted from the building by investigators.
Daniel called me fourteen times.
I answered once.
“What do you want?” I asked.
His voice was low.
“Come home. We can fix this.”
“You threw soup in my face.”
“I was angry.”
“You stole from me.”
“I was going to pay it back.”
“You cheated on me.”
Silence.
Then he whispered, “I made mistakes.”
I closed my eyes.
“No, Daniel. You made choices.”
I ended the call.
That night, I stayed with my sister, Nora.
She held me while I cried.
May you like
Not because I wanted Daniel back.
Because I finally understood how long I had been alone.
