Chapter 6 - My Husband Brought Me Home to Watch Me
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Daniel held the trophy loosely at his side.
Michael stood behind me.
My husband looked from him to me.
“So,” Daniel said, “your memory came back.”
I didn't answer.
Michael stepped forward.
“Leave her alone.”
Daniel smiled.
“The prodigal brother.”
“You used me.”
“You were paid.”
“You lied.”
Daniel shrugged.
“Those aren't mutually exclusive.”
I looked at the trophy.
“Give it to me.”
Daniel glanced down.
“This?”
He lifted it.
“Funny little thing.”
My throat tightened.
“How long have you known?”
“About your recorder?”
He smiled.
“Long enough.”
That didn't make sense.
If he'd known, why had he confessed everything beside it?
Then I understood.
He was bluffing.
Daniel saw the realization in my face.
His smile disappeared.
Michael moved closer.
“You don't know where the files go, do you?”
Daniel said nothing.
Michael laughed.
“You found the device, but you don't know the server.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
There.
Confirmation.
I said, “Everything is already backed up.”
Daniel looked at me.
“You think recordings save you?”
“They help.”
“You were injured. Confused. Your little recordings can be challenged.”
“Bank records can't.”
His expression shifted.
Just slightly.
I continued.
“Neither can federal records.”
That landed.
Daniel looked toward Michael.
“What did you tell her?”
“Enough.”
For the first time, Daniel lost control.
He threw the trophy.
Not at me.
At the concrete wall.
It shattered.
Metal separated from the base.
The recorder skittered across the garage floor.
Daniel stared at it.
Then at me.
I smiled.
“Too late.”
He walked away.
No threat.
No shouting.
That frightened me more.
Because Daniel was most dangerous when he became quiet.
I didn't return home that night.
Maya placed me in a hotel under another name.
Michael went somewhere else.
Federal investigators took custody of the damaged recorder.
At 1:13 a.m., I received a message from Daniel.
Come home. We can fix this.
At 1:18:
Claire manipulated everything.
At 1:27:
Your brother is lying.
At 1:42:
I love you.
At 2:06:
You're making a terrible mistake.
At 2:31:
You have no idea what you've started.
I read every message.
I answered none.
The next morning, Maya arrived with coffee and a laptop.
“You need to see this.”
She opened my company's board portal.
A special meeting had been scheduled for Friday.
Agenda:
Temporary Executive Leadership Transition Due to Medical Incapacity.
My name appeared beneath it.
Daniel had moved ahead anyway.
“He's trying to remove me from my own company,” I said.
Maya nodded.
“He submitted medical documentation.”
“What medical documentation?”
She showed me.
A physician's letter.
It claimed I was suffering cognitive impairment.
The signature belonged to Dr. Adrian Cole.
The neurologist Daniel had arranged for me to see.
I stared at it.
“I met him once.”
“I know.”
“He can't diagnose me from one appointment.”
“He shouldn't.”
“Then why did he sign this?”
Maya leaned back.
“That's what we need to find out.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman whispered, “Mrs. Hawthorne?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Jenna Cole.”
I looked at Maya.
“Cole?”
“Dr. Adrian Cole is my father.”
My pulse accelerated.
“What do you want?”
“To tell you he didn't sign that letter.”
I stood.
“What?”
“My father has been in intensive care for nine days.”
The room went silent.
Jenna continued.
“Someone forged his signature.”
I looked at Maya.
Friday wasn't Daniel's deadline because he had legitimate evidence.
May you like
Friday was his deadline because his entire plan depended on nobody checking it closely enough.
And now we had forty-eight hours to prove it.
