Chapter 7: The Money I Never Knew I Paid
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
The room seemed to shrink around Michael.
“What did you say?””
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“Seven years ago, before the twins were born, Emily received a payment of five hundred thousand dollars.””
“From whom?””
“Your company.””
I stared at him.
“That is impossible.””
Robert immediately opened his briefcase.
“Daniel, let him finish.””
Michael took a breath.
“Emily had debts. Medical bills, legal expenses, and money she owed after the divorce. Vanessa knew about all of it. She convinced Emily that the money was an inheritance advance.””
I shook my head.
“Emily and I were divorced. She never asked me for money.””
“She didn't want you to know.””
“Why?””
Michael looked at Rachel.
Rachel answered instead.
“Because Vanessa told her that if you knew about the pregnancy arrangement, you would fight for custody of both babies.””
I felt anger rise in my chest.
“Emily would never have agreed to something like that without telling me.””
Rachel lowered her eyes.
“She thought she was protecting Lily.””
I turned toward Robert.
“Check the payment.””
He took out his laptop and began searching through old company records.
The payment had been made through an account I rarely used.
A consulting company had received the money, then transferred it to Emily.
The authorization carried my electronic signature.
I stared at it.
“That's not mine.””
Robert enlarged the signature.
“No. It isn't.””
He examined the transaction history.
“Someone accessed your company account using an administrator login.””
“Who had access?””
I already knew the answer.
Vanessa.
After our marriage, I had given her limited access to the business accounts because she had experience managing charitable foundations.
She had told me she wanted to help.
I had trusted her.
Robert continued searching.
Then he found another transfer.
One million dollars.
Then another.
Two million four hundred thousand.
All routed through companies connected to the Reed Children's Trust.
My stomach tightened.
“How much money did she take?””
Robert calculated the total.
“Approximately eight million dollars over six years.””
I sat down.
Eight million.
My company had nearly collapsed during that period.
I remembered cutting staff, delaying projects, and taking out a personal loan to keep our largest construction contract alive.
Vanessa had comforted me.
She had told me I was doing a wonderful job.
She had even suggested I sell one of my properties.
I looked at the transaction list.
“She was stealing from me while telling me we couldn't afford our daughter's school fees.””
Robert nodded grimly.
“I'm afraid so.””
Noah sat quietly near the window.
He was listening to every word.
I walked over and sat beside him.
“I'm sorry you had to hear this.””
He looked at me.
“Did Vanessa steal money to take care of me?””
I struggled to answer.
“She said she was taking care of you. But taking care of a child doesn't require lying to everyone around them.””
He looked down at his hands.
“Did my mother want me?””
My throat tightened.
“Yes.””
“How do you know?””
I looked at the hospital records.
“Because she tried to protect you.””
Noah didn't respond.
Then he asked, “Can I see Lily?””
I smiled.
“Soon.””
Robert's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and immediately stood.
“Daniel, the police have something.””
“What?””
“They searched Vanessa's hotel room.””
He turned away and spoke quietly.
Then he came back.
“They found a second passport, cash, and a prepaid phone. There's also a flight reservation for two children.””
“Where?””
“London, with a connecting flight to Zurich.””
I looked toward Noah.
“Two children?””
Robert nodded.
“Lily and Noah.””
My hands went cold.
“She's still trying to take them.””
“She appears to have planned this before the gala.””
The police officer approached.
“Mr. Hayes, we need to speak with you about something else.””
“What?””
He handed me a printed photograph.
It showed Emily standing outside a parking garage.
A man was beside her.
I recognized him immediately.
Victor Shaw.
The same attorney who had presented Vanessa's fraudulent guardianship order.
The photograph was dated three days before Emily's accident.
“Why was he meeting Emily?”” I asked.
The officer shook his head.
“We're investigating.””
Michael stepped forward.
“That's not all.””
He pulled a small flash drive from his pocket.
“Emily gave this to me before she died.””
I stared at it.
“Why didn't you give it to the police?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Vanessa.””
He handed the drive to Robert.
“There's a recording.””
Robert connected it to his laptop.
A video appeared.
Emily was sitting in a hospital room.
She looked exhausted, pale, and frightened.
Her voice was weak.
“If anyone finds this, I need them to know that I never agreed to give up my children.””
I stopped breathing.
Emily continued.
“Vanessa told me that the twins would be safer if their identities were separated. She said Michael's family would take Noah and Daniel would raise Lily. She promised that both children would eventually know the truth.””
She paused.
Then she looked directly into the camera.
“But she lied.””
Tears filled my eyes.
Emily continued.
“She told me Daniel had agreed to the arrangement. She showed me a document with his signature. I believed her.””
I closed my eyes.
“I didn't know,” I whispered.
Emily looked down.
“I tried to contact Daniel, but Vanessa intercepted my messages. She told me he had moved on. She said he didn't want another child.””
My hands shook.
“I would have wanted both of them.””
The recording continued.
“There's something else. The money wasn't just for the children. Vanessa used my pregnancy to gain access to Daniel's company. She wanted his signature on a trust transfer.””
Emily leaned closer to the camera.
“If Daniel finds this, he needs to know who really arranged the accident.””
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Then a final audio file opened automatically.
A man's voice filled the room.
“She's becoming a problem.””
Another voice answered.
“Then make sure she never reaches Daniel.””
I recognized the second voice.
It was Vanessa.
But the first voice belonged to someone I had known for years.
Someone who had attended my wedding.
Someone who had stood beside me when Emily died.
Robert whispered the name.
“Your father-in-law.””
I stared at the screen.
Vanessa's father, Richard Cole.
The man who had welcomed me into his family.
The man who had toasted my marriage.
The man who had hugged me at Emily's funeral.
And according to that recording, he had helped arrange her death.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke calmly.
“Daniel, you've found enough.””
I recognized it immediately.
Richard.
“Where are you?”” I demanded.
He chuckled.
“Somewhere safe.””
“Did you kill Emily?””
A pause.
Then he said:
“Come to the old Reed estate tonight. Bring the children.””
I felt my blood run cold.
“Why?””
“Because there's one final truth you haven't discovered.””
He hung up.
Robert grabbed my arm.
“Don't go.””
But then another message appeared.
A photograph of Lily sitting in the back seat of a car.
May you like
And beneath it were five words.
*Your daughter is already with us.*
