Chapter 8 - Claire’s Money
Daniel refused to believe it.
“Run it again.”
“I did.”
Sofia sounded exhausted.
“The initial $500,000 deposited into Red Fern’s predecessor account in 2018 came from an investment account titled solely to Claire Mercer.”
Daniel stared at the dining-room wall.
“So Claire created Red Fern?”
“I don’t know.”
“Her money funded it.”
“Yes.”
The discovery threatened the entire story Daniel had constructed.
Claire as whistleblower.
Richard and Victoria as thieves.
What if Claire had been participating?
Eleanor reviewed the records.
“The transfer is real.”
“You knew?”
“No.”
Daniel paced.
Victoria’s words returned.
You thought your first wife was a saint.
Maybe Claire was protecting Emma from you.
For the first time, Daniel considered something he did not want to consider.
Claire might have had secrets unrelated to protecting him.
He drove to Victoria’s attorney’s office against Maya Grant’s advice.
Maya came with him because she did not trust him not to make another mistake.
Victoria sat across a conference table.
Her lawyer, Charles Denton, switched on a recorder.
Daniel noticed.
“Fine.”
Victoria smiled.
“You finally learned people record things.”
“Why did Claire fund Red Fern?”
Her smile faded.
“You found that.”
“Answer.”
“Claire hired me.”
Daniel stared.
“To do what?”
“Investigate Mercer Equine Holdings.”
Eleanor’s notes had identified Victoria as suspicious.
Yet Victoria was claiming the opposite.
“She paid you half a million dollars?”
“The money funded covert consulting work. Surveyors. forensic accounting. corporate research.”
“Then why did Red Fern receive millions afterward?”
“Ask Richard.”
“Why did Claire write that you were working with him?”
“Because I was.”
Daniel leaned back.
Victoria continued.
“Claire hired me to get close to Richard.”
The room went silent.
Maya took notes without reacting.
Daniel asked, “And you expect me to believe you later married me by coincidence?”
“No.”
For once, Victoria did not lie.
“I approached you deliberately.”
Daniel’s face went cold.
Victoria held his gaze.
“After Claire died, Richard controlled too much. Claire had asked me to document what he was doing. I thought getting close to you was the only way to finish it.”
“You married me.”
“Yes.”
“You slept in Claire’s house.”
“Yes.”
“You let Emma call you family.”
Victoria’s composure cracked.
“I did not expect—”
“What? To like the money?”
“To fall in love with you.”
Daniel almost stood.
Maya put her hand on his arm.
Victoria’s attorney said, “Daniel.”
He sat.
“What was in the envelope?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You beat a six-year-old over it.”
Victoria flinched.
“I lost control.”
“You used a riding crop.”
“I know what I did.”
“Then tell me why.”
She looked down.
“Emma saw me open Claire’s compartment. She said there was another place Claire used. I kept asking her. She wouldn’t answer.”
“So you punished her.”
Victoria’s silence confirmed it.
Daniel’s voice shook.
“There is no reason that makes that acceptable.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop asking for access to her.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I already withdrew that request.”
Daniel blinked.
Maya checked her phone.
A new filing had arrived fifteen minutes earlier.
Victoria had agreed to no contact with Emma pending investigation.
It did not redeem her.
But it complicated her.
“What did you do with the envelope?”
Victoria looked at her lawyer.
He shook his head.
She ignored him.
“I gave it to Richard.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Because he threatened you.”
“With what?”
“Federal charges.”
“For what?”
“False certifications tied to Mercer Equine loans.”
Daniel stared.
“I signed those documents based on statements Richard prepared.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t automatically make it fraud.”
“No. But Richard has emails making it look as if you knew.”
“Forged?”
“Some. Some real and out of context.”
Daniel understood.
Richard had not merely stolen.
He had built insurance.
Victoria continued.
“He told me if I didn’t give him Claire’s envelope, he would send everything to federal investigators and claim you directed the scheme.”
“So you stole evidence to save me?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
Her eyes hardened.
“The envelope also contained Claire’s original contract with me.”
Daniel waited.
“It proved she funded Red Fern.”
“That helps you.”
“It also contained the termination clause.”
“What termination clause?”
“If I participated in any transaction benefiting Richard personally, every dollar remaining in Red Fern reverted to Claire’s estate.”
Daniel slowly understood.
“How much is remaining?”
“About six million.”
“You own six million dollars funded by my dead wife.”
“Legally, maybe not.”
“And Richard now has the document that could take it from you.”
“Yes.”
There was Victoria’s motive.
Not love.
Not loyalty.
Survival.
Daniel asked the question he feared.
“Did you ever help Richard steal from the company?”
Victoria’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.”
“Maybe three million.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Victoria whispered, “I told myself I was maintaining cover.”
“You profited.”
“Yes.”
“You married me without telling me any of this.”
“Yes.”
“You hurt Emma because she stood between you and six million dollars.”
Victoria started crying.
Daniel felt nothing.
Then she said, “There’s something worse.”
He opened his eyes.
“Richard didn’t take Claire’s envelope to destroy it.”
“Why else?”
“He needs what’s inside to complete the Bellwether sale.”
“That sale can’t happen.”
Victoria looked at him.
“It can if Emma’s trust no longer owns Claire’s voting shares.”
Daniel froze.
“That’s impossible.”
“Richard filed something this morning.”
“What?”
“A petition claiming Claire’s transfer of shares into Emma’s trust was fraudulent because the shares had already been pledged as security for Red Fern’s debts.”
Daniel stared.
“If he wins…”
“Emma’s trust loses its blocking vote.”
“And Bellwether?”
May you like
Victoria’s voice dropped.
“Can be sold.”
