Chapter 7: The Secret Buried With My First Wife
I stayed silent after Claire said the words.
Not because I didn’t believe her.
Because some part of me already knew.
There were questions I had buried for years.
Questions about my first wife, Emma.
Questions I was too afraid to ask.
Emma died six years ago in what everyone called a tragic accident.
A rainy night.
A dangerous road.
A car that lost control.
That was the story I accepted because I had no reason not to.
Until now.
“Michael?”” Claire whispered through the phone.
“Are you still there?””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Tell me everything.””
A long pause followed.
Then Claire said, “Not over the phone.””
I almost laughed.
“After everything you’ve done, you think I’m going to meet you somewhere alone?””
“I know you hate me right now.””
“Hate you?”” I said quietly.
“You hurt my daughter.””
Her voice cracked.
“I know.””
That surprised me.
For the first time since this nightmare began, Claire sounded like someone who understood the damage she had caused.
“But Daniel is worse than you think,” she continued.
I looked at Mason.
He was watching me carefully.
“What happened to Emma?””
Claire took a shaky breath.
“Daniel knew your first wife before you met him.””
My entire body went still.
“What?””
“He never told you because he couldn’t.””
“Why?””
“Because Emma found out what he was doing.””
My mind raced.
“What was he doing?””
Claire lowered her voice.
“Fraud.””
The word landed heavily.
I remembered the years when Daniel and I built our company from nothing. The late nights. The risks. The trust.
“You’re saying Daniel stole from me?””
“No.””
Her answer came too quickly.
“He stole from everyone.””
I looked at Robert, who had just walked back into the room.
I put the call on speaker.
“Keep talking,” I said.
Claire continued.
“Daniel had been moving company money through fake accounts. Emma discovered it because she helped with the bookkeeping.””
Robert’s expression changed.
That caught my attention.
“You knew about this?”” I asked him.
He shook his head.
“No. But I remember rumors.””
Claire continued.
“She confronted him.””
“When?””
“A few days before she died.””
The room became silent.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“You’re saying Emma’s death wasn’t an accident?””
“I’m saying Daniel was terrified of what she knew.””
Mason stepped closer.
“Michael…”
I looked at him.
He looked just as shocked as I was.
“Why are you telling me this now?”” I asked Claire.
Another pause.
Then she said something I never expected.
“Because Daniel was planning to leave me behind too.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He promised me everything. He said once you were gone, I would have money and security.””
Her voice trembled.
“But two weeks ago, I found messages between him and another person.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“Then why should I trust you?””
“Because the last message said…”
She stopped.
“Claire.””
Her breathing became uneven.
“It said, ‘After Michael, we handle the wife and the boy.’”
My eyes moved toward Mason.
The boy.
They weren’t just targeting me.
They were targeting everyone.
The call ended suddenly.
I stared at my phone.
Then Robert spoke.
“We need to find evidence before Daniel knows we’re onto him.””
Mason looked at me.
“What do we do?””
For the first time, I had no answer.
Then Lily walked into the room holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Daddy?””
I forced a smile.
“Yes, sweetheart?””
“Are we going home?””
The question broke me.
Because home was supposed to be the safest place in the world.
And mine had become a battlefield.
“We’re not going back there tonight,” I said.
Lily nodded.
Then she looked at Mason.
“Is Mason coming too?””
Mason smiled sadly.
“If you want me there.””
She grabbed his hand.
“I do.””
I watched them together.
My daughter and the stepson who saved her.
The two people Claire and Daniel underestimated.
That was their biggest mistake.
Because they thought they were weak.
They were wrong.
The next morning, Robert helped us access old company records.
And after hours of searching, we found something hidden in an archive folder.
A transaction from seven years ago.
A payment made the day before Emma died.
The recipient name was hidden.
But the account number was familiar.
It belonged to someone I knew.
Someone who had been at Emma’s funeral.
Someone who had hugged me and told me everything would be okay.
Robert zoomed in on the document.
Then he looked at me.
“Michael…”
I stared at the name.
My heart sank.
May you like
Because the person who helped Daniel cover up the fraud wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone from my own family.
