Chapter 7 - The Door in Singapore
By morning, the situation had moved beyond a family dispute.
Lawyers were involved in three countries.
Authorities had copies of the evidence.
The hotel in Singapore had been identified.
I wanted to fly there immediately, but my emergency passport had not yet been issued.
So I waited in Thailand while Marcus coordinated from beside me.
At 10:37 a.m., Sophie sent one final message.
Someone is knocking.
Then nothing.
At 10:41, Daniel called.
“Last chance.”
“You're early.”
“I've lost patience.”
“You lost something else first.”
“What?”
“Control.”
He laughed.
But there was strain beneath it.
“You always did love dramatic speeches.”
“And you always mistook silence for weakness.”
I looked at the clock.
10:42.
Marcus held up one finger.
Wait.
Daniel continued.
“Sign electronically. Vale sent the documents.”
“I don't have my phone.”
“Ironic, isn't it?”
“You stole it.”
“I protected it.”
“From whom?”
“You.”
That told me everything about Daniel’s logic.
Anything he controlled was protection.
Anything I controlled was danger.
At 10:43, Marcus received a message.
He nodded.
I said, “Daniel, open your hotel door.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Open the door.”
His breathing changed.
Then I heard knocking through the telephone.
Firm.
Official.
Daniel stopped speaking.
Another knock.
A voice announced itself outside his room.
Daniel whispered, “What did you do?”
“Exactly what you told me.”
“What?”
“I figured it out myself.”
He disconnected.
For the next forty minutes, I knew almost nothing.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
He listened.
His shoulders relaxed.
“Sophie is safe.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“And Daniel?”
“Being questioned.”
“Evelyn?”
“Also being questioned.”
“My passport?”
“Recovered.”
I covered my mouth.
For the first time in days, I could breathe.
But Marcus wasn't smiling.
“What?”
“They recovered Rachel's laptop too.”
“Good.”
“Vanessa, there's something else.”
He turned his screen.
Authorities had located documents in Daniel’s possession related to the proposed trust.
And airline tickets.
Not home.
Zurich.
Three tickets.
Daniel, Evelyn, Sophie.
Departure that evening.
He had never intended to return directly to America.
The trust signing deadline had been designed to happen before he left Singapore.
“Why Switzerland?”
May you like
Marcus looked at the transaction spreadsheet.
“I think we're about to find out.”
