Chapter 7
Daniel did not accept my leaving quietly.
At first, he begged.
He sent flowers to Marissa’s office.
He sent long messages saying he was sorry.
He claimed he had been under pressure.
He claimed Victor had manipulated him.
Then the messages became cruel.
You are nothing without me.
I made you.
You will regret this.
The police documented every word.
When Daniel learned the banks had frozen the loan and the fraud investigation had begun, he became desperate.
He showed up at my mother’s house.
Thankfully, she did not open the door.
She called police.
Daniel was arrested for violating the emergency protective order.
At the hearing, he looked different.
Smaller.
Less polished.
But when he saw me, his eyes filled with the same cold anger I had seen on our wedding night.
“You planned this,” he whispered.
“No,” I said. “You did.”
The criminal case grew.
Rachel testified.
Tessa testified.
Victor accepted a deal and gave investigators financial records.
Daniel had helped steal more than two hundred thousand dollars from women he claimed to love.
The house was seized as part of the investigation.
For once, I was grateful my name had never been added to that deed.
May you like
Daniel had used the house to control me.
Now it was evidence against him.
