Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Daniel called me at 11:17 p.m.
I almost ignored it.
Instead, I answered.
"Hello?"
"Claire."
His voice was quiet.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"What happened?"
"I need to tell you something."
I sat up.
"About Ryan?"
"Yes."
"Go ahead."
There was a long silence.
"I knew about Vanessa."
I closed my eyes.
"How long?"
"Almost a year."
My stomach tightened.
"Did Margaret know?"
"Yes."
I didn't speak.
Daniel continued.
"But that's not why I'm calling."
"What is it?"
"Ryan told me something six months ago."
"What?"
"He said you would never leave."
I laughed softly.
"I heard that one before."
"No. Claire, listen."
His voice cracked.
"He said you were trapped."
I looked toward the sleeping children.
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said you had no income, two kids, another baby coming, and nowhere to go."
I swallowed.
"What else?"
"He said once Vanessa moved in, you'd either accept the arrangement or disappear."
My heart pounded.
"Disappear?"
"He didn't mean kill you."
I went silent.
"I don't think he meant that."
"You don't think?"
Daniel exhaled.
"Ryan talked about sending you to your sister's."
"I don't have a sister."
"I know."
I felt cold.
"What did he mean?"
"I don't know."
Then Daniel said:
"There's something else."
"Of course there is."
"Ryan has been lying about the company."
"How?"
"The company isn't just his."
"Whose is it?"
"My father's."
I stared at the wall.
"Your father died four years ago."
"Exactly."
I couldn't breathe.
"Daniel."
"I found the documents yesterday."
"Where?"
"In Dad's old office."
"What documents?"
"Trust records."
I stood.
"Does Ryan know you have them?"
"No."
"Where are they?"
"In my apartment."
"Daniel, don't go home."
"What?"
"If Ryan knows you're talking to me—"
A sound came through the phone.
A door closing.
Daniel stopped.
"Someone's here."
My heart raced.
"Daniel?"
He whispered.
"Claire..."
Then the call ended.
I called back.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
I called Allison.
She answered immediately.
"What's wrong?"
I told her.
Her voice changed.
"Don't contact Daniel again."
"Why?"
"If someone is monitoring him, you don't want to alert them."
"He's alone."
"We don't know that."
"What do we do?"
"Call the police."
The next morning, Daniel appeared at Allison's office.
He looked like he hadn't slept.
He carried a cardboard box.
He placed it on her desk.
"Everything is here."
Allison opened it.
Inside were old trust documents.
Corporate records.
Handwritten notes.
Photographs.
And one letter.
Daniel looked at me.
"This is why Ryan married you."
I stared at him.
"What?"
He handed me the letter.
It was from Ryan's father.
To Ryan.
The first line read:
Claire Bennett is worth protecting.
Not exploiting.
I read further.
And my hands began to shake.
Because the letter revealed something I had never known.
Before our wedding, Ryan's father had discovered that I had inherited a small but valuable family trust.
Ryan knew about it.
I didn't.
And the trust had been structured so that the money would become available only under certain circumstances.
One of those circumstances was divorce.
I looked up.
"Ryan knew."
Daniel nodded.
"Your husband knew you weren't financially trapped."
He had known all along.
And suddenly his confidence made sense.
May you like
He wasn't afraid I'd leave because I had nothing.
He was afraid I'd leave because I had something he couldn't control.
