Chapter 8 - The Accounts
The financial investigation moved faster once Rachel’s laptop was recovered.
Graham Vale’s name connected nearly everything.
Shell companies.
Loans.
Trust structures.
Transfers.
Properties.
But one discovery mattered most to me.
Daniel had debt.
A staggering amount.
Much of it concealed.
He had presented himself throughout our marriage as financially successful. His consulting business supposedly generated millions.
It didn't.
The lifestyle had been financed by borrowing, asset transfers, and increasingly desperate financial arrangements.
My inheritance wasn't a prize.
It was a rescue boat.
And Daniel had intended to seize it before his debts swallowed him.
Marcus showed me the acquisition documents involving my father's company.
If the sale closed, my shares could become extraordinarily valuable.
Daniel had learned about the deal before I did.
“How?”
“We're investigating.”
I knew one likely answer.
Vale.
The same man who had prepared my trust.
Then my replacement passport arrived.
For the first time since waking alone, I could leave Thailand.
But before I did, I walked down to the beach.
The resort looked impossibly beautiful.
I remembered arriving there holding Daniel’s hand.
He had kissed my forehead and said, “Ten days where nobody can bother us.”
Now I understood.
He hadn't wanted privacy.
He wanted isolation.
Maya found me near the water.
“You are leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
“I am glad.”
“So am I.”
She hesitated.
“Your husband called the resort again.”
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
“What did he want?”
“To know whether you were still here.”
A chill moved through me.
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
That night, Marcus received confirmation that Daniel had been released pending further proceedings but could not simply make the problem disappear.
Sophie had been placed temporarily with appropriate supervision while custody issues were addressed.
She asked to speak with me.
Her face appeared on a video call.
She looked exhausted.
“Vanessa?”
“Hey, Soph.”
Her mouth trembled.
“Are you mad at me?”
The question broke my heart.
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because I went with them.”
“You didn't choose this.”
She looked down.
“Dad said you didn't want us anymore.”
I closed my eyes.
“He lied.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I saw you sleeping.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The morning we left. Grandma told me you had already gone downstairs. But I went into your room.”
She swallowed.
“You were asleep.”
“Did you see them take my passport?”
She nodded.
“And your phone.”
My heart pounded.
“Why didn't you wake me?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Dad caught me.”
I remembered the security footage.
Daniel gripping her shoulder.
“He told me if I woke you, he'd leave me in Thailand too.”
I fought to keep my expression calm.
“Sophie, listen to me. None of this is your fault.”
She nodded, crying.
Then she said something unexpected.
“There’s something else on Mom’s laptop.”
May you like
“What?”
“A video.”
