Chương 11
“Cancer.”
I laughed.
I could not help it.
My ribs protested immediately.
Evelyn stared at me as if the sound frightened her.
I pressed my hand against my side.
“Sorry.”
Nobody corrected me.
“Preston told Daniel I had cancer?”
Vanessa nodded.
“What kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“He invented my fatal illness and couldn’t even pick one?”
Vanessa looked miserable.
“He said you had less than a year.”
I stared at the ceiling.
It was absurd enough to be offensive.
For months I had attended prenatal appointments, bought nursing bras, argued with contractors about nursery paint, and posted exactly one photograph of my enormous pregnant stomach because my mother had begged me to take more pictures.
Meanwhile, my husband had apparently been telling another man I was terminally ill.
“How did Daniel believe that?” Ortiz asked.
“He didn’t completely.”
“Then?”
“Preston showed him documents.”
Richard’s head came up.
“What documents?”
“Medical records.”
My stomach tightened.
“Mine?”
“Supposedly.”
“They were fake.”
“I assume so.”
“Did you see them?”
“No.”
Ortiz wrote something.
“Why would Preston promise Lila insurance money after Madison died?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Because he wanted Daniel to sign something.”
“What?”
“A release.”
Richard swore under his breath.
Ortiz looked at him.
“What kind?”
Richard answered before Vanessa could.
“Paternity waiver, confidentiality agreement, inheritance release, possibly all three.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Something like that.”
“So Preston wanted Lila legally separated from him before her existence became public.”
“Yes.”
“And he offered money that did not belong to him yet.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Richard.
“Would that even work?”
“Not the way he imagined.”
“Preston was never patient with details that contradicted what he wanted.”
Richard almost smiled.
Then he remembered where we were.
Vanessa continued.
“Daniel refused.”
“Then why create the trust?” Ortiz asked.
“Because Lila was about to turn eighteen.”
I frowned.
“What changes then?”
“Daniel thought she should control anything meant for her.”
“That still doesn’t explain my policy.”
“No.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“Daniel created the trust because Preston told him he would make the payment voluntarily.”
“From his own money?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel know the source was supposed to be my death benefit?”
“Not until last week.”
That was the first thing Vanessa had said that sounded like a door opening beneath us.
Ortiz heard it too.
“What happened last week?”
“Daniel found the beneficiary change.”
“How?”
“Lila did.”
I looked at her.
“How would a seventeen-year-old girl access my insurance account?”
“She didn’t.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“She accessed Preston’s email.”
That sounded more plausible.
“Why?”
“Because he contacted her.”
I stopped moving.
“What?”
“Preston found her social media account.”
Richard swore again.
Evelyn stared at Vanessa.
“When?”
“About two months ago.”
“Did Daniel know?”
“Not at first.”
“What did Preston say to her?”
Vanessa closed her eyes briefly.
“He told her he was her father.”
Something dark moved through me.
Not jealousy.
Not exactly.
It was the recognition that Preston had done to another child what he was already trying to do to mine.
Claim first.
Explain later.
Possess before anyone could object.
“How did Lila respond?”
“She didn’t believe him.”
“Good.”
“Then he sent her one of Claire’s old letters.”
Evelyn whispered, “He kept copies?”
“Apparently.”
Ortiz asked, “Did Lila meet him?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“A coffee shop near her school.”
“Was anyone else there?”
“Daniel arrived near the end.”
“And?”
“They argued.”
“About what?”
“Preston told Lila he could give her a better life.”
I closed my eyes.
There he was.
The man who believed money transformed every wound into gratitude.
“What did Lila say?”
Vanessa’s mouth twitched despite everything.
“She told him she already had a life.”
I liked her immediately.
Ortiz asked, “How did Daniel react?”
“He told Preston to stay away from her.”
“And Preston?”
“He threatened him.”
“With what?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“With the insurance money.”
Richard frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It did to Preston.”
“Explain it.”
“He said if Daniel caused trouble, Lila would get nothing.”
“Nothing from Madison’s policy?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel knew Madison was supposedly terminally ill?”
“Until last week.”
“What changed?”
“Lila found emails between Preston and the insurance adviser.”
My heart began beating harder.
“The one who requested accelerated settlement?”
Vanessa nodded.
“She forwarded everything to Daniel.”
“Did he contact the insurance company?”
“He was going to.”
“When?”
“Today.”
That changed the air in the room.
Ortiz slowly lowered her pen.
“Daniel followed you to Ravenstone because of those emails.”
“Yes.”
“Did Preston know?”
“No.”
“You knew?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Not until I saw Daniel’s car.”
“At the overlook?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Vanessa’s breathing changed.
Her eyes moved toward the floor.
“Daniel confronted Preston before Madison went near the cliff.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Where was I?”
“In the restroom near the visitor center.”
I remembered that.
My bladder had become a tyrant during the last month of pregnancy.
I had left Preston and Vanessa beside the SUV for less than ten minutes.
“What did Daniel say?”
“He told Preston he had copied everything.”
“Everything what?”
“The emails.”
“The forged insurance changes?”
“Yes.”
“The fake medical records?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
Vanessa looked at Richard.
“He said he had proof Preston had been moving money out of Madison’s accounts.”
My head snapped toward her.
“What accounts?”
“I don’t know.”
“Vanessa.”
“I don’t.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Business accounts?”
“I heard Daniel say retirement and brokerage.”
A different kind of fear entered me.
Preston handled most of our investment paperwork.
Not because I was incapable.
Because I had been busy.
Because pregnancy exhausted me.
Because grief after my mother’s death had made spreadsheets feel impossible.
Because marriage turns trust into habit long before it becomes evidence.
“How much?” I asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Ortiz kept her voice controlled.
“What did Preston do when Daniel confronted him?”
“He told him to leave.”
“And Daniel?”
“He said he was calling the police.”
“Did he?”
“Preston grabbed his phone.”
“Then?”
Vanessa’s hands began trembling.
“They fought.”
“Physical?”
May you like
“Yes.”
“Who started it?”
