I did not answer Olivia that night.
I took a screenshot of the message and sent it to Victoria.
Her reply arrived less than three minutes later.
Do not respond until morning.
I stared at those words while Olivia's message remained open beneath them.
We need to talk before Daniel gets back to New York.
The phrasing suggested urgency.
It also told me Olivia knew Daniel was returning before he'd even confirmed it to me.
At 7:30 the next morning, I sat across from Victoria in her conference room.
The investigator joined by phone.
“We can respond,” Victoria said, “but carefully.”
“What do I say?”
“Ask what she wants.”
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
I typed while Victoria watched.
What do you need to tell me?
Olivia replied almost immediately.
Not by phone. In person.
I showed Victoria.
She asked the investigator to check Olivia's current location.
Miami.
Still.
“She's asking me to fly there?”
Another message arrived.
I can come to New York.
Victoria's eyebrows rose slightly.
That was the first visible reaction I'd seen from her in several minutes.
“Interesting,” she said.
“What?”
“She wants proximity to you more than she wants convenience.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning she may be afraid.”
I wrote:
Why now?
This time Olivia took longer.
Because the money is frozen and Daniel thinks Richard betrayed him.
I felt the room tighten around me.
Victoria leaned closer.
“Don't answer.”
Another message appeared.
He doesn't know you know about me. Not yet.
Then:
Please don't tell him I contacted you.
I looked at Victoria.
“She sent the drive.”
“Maybe.”
“She knows about the frozen account.”
“She could know through Daniel.”
“She knows Richard is involved.”
“She works with them.”
Every path still led to uncertainty.
I hated it.
We arranged a meeting for the following afternoon in a private conference room at Victoria's office.
Olivia flew to New York that evening.
Daniel, meanwhile, called me just before noon.
His voice was controlled again.
“I'm flying home tomorrow.”
My heart gave one hard beat.
“For how long?”
“A few days.”
“What happened?”
“Bank issue.”
“I thought it was probably nothing.”
“It probably is.”
“Then why fly all the way back?”
“Because some things are easier in person.”
He sounded irritated that I had asked.
I made myself soften.
“I'll be glad to see you.”
His silence surprised me.
Then he said, “Me too.”
He didn't sound glad.
“What time?”
“I'll send you the flight.”
He never did.
That told me he had no intention of letting me meet him at the airport.
The next afternoon, Olivia arrived ten minutes early.
I recognized her immediately.
The photographs had flattened her into evidence: pregnant woman, mistress, tenant, employee.
In person, she was younger than I expected, perhaps thirty-one or thirty-two. Her hair was pulled into a loose knot. She wore a navy maternity dress under a cream cardigan, and she carried no purse, only a phone and a slim envelope.
Her eyes found mine.
Neither of us spoke.
Victoria stood between us without appearing to.
“Olivia, this is my client, Emma Mercer.”
Olivia swallowed.
“I know.”
Hearing my name in her voice did something unpleasant to me.
I took my seat.
She sat opposite.
Her hands remained folded protectively beneath her stomach.
I looked at the child my husband had helped create.
No preparation could make that ordinary.
Victoria began.
“You requested this meeting. Before we start, understand that I represent Emma. I do not represent you.”
“I understand.”
“Anything you say may be documented.”
“I know.”
Olivia looked at me.
“I sent the photographs.”
I said nothing.
“And the USB drive.”
Still nothing.
“I should've contacted you sooner.”
“Yes,” I said.
Her face tightened.
“I didn't know how.”
“You knew how to sleep with my husband.”
Victoria turned slightly toward me.
Not reprimanding.
Just reminding me why we were there.
Olivia looked down.
“You have every right to hate me.”
“I didn't come here to discuss what I have a right to feel.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
“Tell me about the money.”
She exhaled slowly.
“I started working for Daniel two years ago.”
“At the consulting company?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know he was married?”
“From the beginning.”
There was no excuse.
No claim of deception.
Strangely, that made listening easier.
“When did the affair start?”
“About fourteen months ago.”
“And you're pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“Is Daniel the father?”
Her eyes filled, but she kept her voice steady.
“Yes.”
The confirmation hurt differently from seeing the photographs.
A picture left room for fantasy.
A spoken answer did not.
“When is the baby due?”
“Eleven weeks.”
I looked away.
Claire had been born after thirty hours of labor.
Daniel had stood beside my bed, terrified and devoted, holding ice chips to my lips.
I hated that my mind chose that moment to remember.
Victoria redirected the conversation.
“What did Daniel tell you about Emma's inheritance?”
Olivia placed the envelope on the table.
“He said it was marital money.”
“What exactly did he mean?”
“He said Emma's grandmother left it to both of them in practice, even if the documents were technically in her name at first.”
I almost laughed.
“In practice?”
Olivia winced.
“That's how he described it.”
“Did you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“At first.”
There it was.
“At first,” I repeated.
Olivia looked at Victoria.
“Daniel started using the consulting company to move money about eight months ago. He said it was tax planning.”
“Who structured it?”
“Mostly Richard.”
My uncle's name felt dirtier every time it entered the room.
“What was Richard's role?”
“Daniel called him the architect.”
Victoria wrote something.
“Explain.”
“He understood the trusts, the accounts, the corporate structure. Daniel understood what he wanted. Richard knew how to build it.”
“And what did Daniel want?”
Olivia looked at me.
“To leave.”
My throat tightened.
“Leave me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“He talked about it for almost a year.”
“Why didn't he just divorce me?”
Olivia hesitated.
Then she said, “Because he thought he'd lose too much.”
The room became very quiet.
“What did he think he'd lose?”
“The house. Money. Retirement assets. Reputation.”
“And my inheritance.”
“Yes.”
The word landed gently and cut deeply.
Daniel had not stayed because he loved me.
At least not entirely.
He had stayed because leaving honestly cost too much.
“What was Canada?”
“Daniel's idea.”
“Not Richard's?”
“No.”
“He wanted me to believe he'd be gone for two years?”
“Yes.”
“Why two?”
Olivia rubbed her thumb along the edge of her phone.
“Because he said after that much time living separately, people would believe the marriage had already ended emotionally.”
I stared at her.
“He wanted to rewrite the history.”
“I think so.”
“While living with you.”
“Yes.”
“And having a baby.”
Her eyes lowered.
“Yes.”
I stood and walked to the far end of the conference room.
Victoria allowed the silence.
That was one reason I trusted her.
She never rushed pain because it made a meeting inconvenient.
After a minute, I returned.
“Did you believe he was going to marry you?”
Olivia's face changed.
“Yes.”
“Do you still?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She looked at her stomach.
“Because he lies when he doesn't need to.”
That sentence stayed with me.
“What happened?”
“About four months ago, I started noticing discrepancies.”
“Financial?”
“Yes. Daniel would tell Richard one thing and tell me something else. He'd say certain transfers were temporary, then instruct me to code them differently.”
“Code them as what?”
“Vendor expenses. Consulting. Reimbursements.”
“That spreadsheet had your initial beside several payments.”
“I know.”
“What were they?”
Olivia opened the envelope.
Inside were bank statements.
She slid them across the table.
“Some were salary. Some were money Daniel told me to hold.”
“Hold for what?”
“He never gave me a clear answer.”
“How much?”
“Thirty-six thousand seven hundred.”
I remembered the entries.
Eighteen thousand.
Eleven five.
Seven two.
Exactly.
“Where is it?”
“In an account I control.”
“Did you spend any?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because by then I was scared.”
Victoria examined the statements.
“You understand retaining funds could create legal issues for you.”
“I know.”
“Do you have counsel?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Olivia looked back at me.
“I'll return it.”
I did not respond.
Returning money did not repair a marriage.
It did not erase Miami.
It did not make her innocent.
But it mattered.
“What made you send the drive?”
“Richard.”
That surprised me.
“What did he do?”
“He came to Miami last month.”
“Why?”
“Daniel and Richard had started fighting.”
“About what?”
“The timing.”
Olivia shifted uncomfortably.
“Richard thought Daniel was moving too quickly.”
“Too quickly with the money?”
“Yes.”
“What did Daniel want?”
“To move the four hundred ten thousand immediately.”
My pulse kicked.
“The spreadsheet.”
She nodded.
“Richard said they needed another month.”
“Why?”
“Because one of the corporate accounts was under review.”
“By whom?”
“A bank compliance team.”
Victoria's pen stopped.
“What bank?”
Olivia named it.
Victoria wrote the name down.
“What happened when Richard came to Miami?”
“He and Daniel argued at the condo.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
Olivia pressed her lips together as if remembering frightened her.
“Richard told Daniel he'd become reckless because of me and the baby.”
I felt an unexpected flash of disgust on her behalf.
“Daniel said Richard was getting weak.”
“What did that mean?”
“He accused Richard of wanting out.”
“And did he?”
“I think so.”
My uncle wanting out did not make him less guilty.
But it changed the shape of the alliance.
“What else?”
“Richard told Daniel that if Emma found the original trust documents, everything could collapse.”
I thought of the email.
“So the drive came from Richard?”
“No.”
Olivia shook her head.
“I copied the files.”
“From his system?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He left his laptop open during the argument.”
Aaron's metadata suddenly made sense.
Olivia continued.
“I'd already been suspicious. I copied whatever looked connected to Emma, the companies, or the transfers.”
“Why send it anonymously?”
“Because I was still living with Daniel.”
“Yet now you're here.”
“The account restriction changed everything.”
“How?”
Olivia's face lost color.
“Daniel thought Richard caused it.”
“He told me that last night.”
“He didn't just tell you.”
“What did he do?”
“He confronted Richard.”
“Where?”
“By phone first.”
“And?”
“Then Daniel booked a flight to New York.”
The room seemed colder.
“Daniel told me he's coming tomorrow.”
“He lied.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He landed this morning.”
My chair scraped the floor as I stood.
“You're sure?”
“I saw the booking confirmation.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
My phone rang at that exact moment.
Daniel.
All four of us looked at the screen.
Victoria said quietly, “Answer.”
I did.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
His voice sounded calm.
Too calm.
“Still coming tomorrow?”
A pause.
“Change of plans.”
I looked directly at Olivia.
“What kind?”
“I got an earlier flight.”
My skin went cold.
“You're in New York?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
I nearly closed my eyes.
“Where are you?”
“Handling something.”
“What?”
“Just business.”
Behind Olivia, Victoria wrote four words on her legal pad and turned it toward me.
DO NOT MENTION RICHARD.
I nodded.
“Are you coming home tonight?”
Another pause.
“Maybe.”
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“You've been gone for weeks. If you're already in New York, I'd like to see my husband.”
He was silent.
Then his voice softened.
“You will.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
The line went dead.
I lowered the phone.
Olivia looked frightened now.
Not guilty.
Frightened.
“There's one more thing,” she said.
“What?”
“Richard has copies.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
Victoria leaned forward.
“Where?”
“I don't know exactly.”
“Then why does that matter?”
Olivia looked at me.
“Because Daniel knows he has them.”
My pulse thudded.
“And if Daniel thinks Richard froze the money?”
Olivia nodded slowly.
“He won't come home first.”
He'll go to Richard.
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: Daniel Went Looking for Richard Before Coming Home, and a Missing Box From My Uncle’s Office Revealed What They Had Both Been Hiding
At the Airport, My Husband Promised He Would Come Home, but One Small Detail Made His Goodbye Feel Wrong
Part 6 of 20
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