Chapter 4
I didn’t sleep.
Every memory of Ryan began replaying differently.
The first time we met.
The way he had appeared at my father’s charity event.
The way he already seemed to know things about me.
My favorite coffee.
My college.
My father’s business.
I once thought he had been attentive.
Now it felt like research.
Aaron sat across from me.
“You think Diane arranged your marriage?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“Ryan targeted you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
I had loved him.
Or at least I had loved the man I thought he was.
At seven that morning, Detective Martinez called.
Ryan wanted to speak with me.
“No.”
“He claims he has information about the person sending the messages.”
I looked at Lily playing with blocks beside Aaron.
“What does he want?”
“To talk to you.”
“Then he talks with detectives present.”
An hour later, I sat behind thick glass at the county detention center.
Ryan looked exhausted.
There was a bruise near his cheek from the fall in the kitchen.
But his eyes were still hard.
“You look terrible,” he said.
I almost laughed.
“You chained our daughter.”
“My mother did.”
“You knew.”
“I knew she disciplined Lily.”
“With a dog chain?”
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
I stood.
“Wait.”
I stopped.
Ryan leaned forward.
“My mother isn’t running this.”
“Then who is?”
He glanced toward the detective.
“I want a deal.”
“You don’t get to negotiate with me.”
“If they release me, I’ll tell you everything.”
I turned toward the door.
“Rebecca.”
I froze.
Ryan smiled slightly.
“I knew that would stop you.”
“What about Rebecca?”
“She recruited me.”
“Recruited you?”
“Before we met.”
I slowly sat back down.
Ryan lowered his voice.
“Rebecca told Mom your father had taken millions that belonged to our family.”
“Your father signed those shares over.”
“That’s not what we were told.”
“So you married me for money.”
Ryan’s silence lasted too long.
My chest tightened.
“You never loved me.”
“At first?”
He swallowed.
“No.”
My eyes burned.
“But things changed.”
“Don’t.”
“Emily—”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I did love you eventually.”
“You planned to steal my child.”
“I never wanted Lily hurt.”
“You stood there defending the woman who chained her.”
His face collapsed slightly.
“I made mistakes.”
“That was not a mistake.”
I moved closer to the glass.
“That was a choice.”
Ryan looked down.
Then he whispered, “Rebecca knows where the money is.”
“Where?”
“She said your father hid control of the portfolio inside Lily’s trust structure.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the two million everyone knows about is only the visible account.”
My stomach dropped.
“There’s another account?”
“Not an account. A holding company.”
“How much?”
Ryan looked at me.
“Forty-three million.”
For several seconds, I heard nothing.
Then Ryan continued.
“Your father made Lily the beneficiary.”
My daughter was worth forty-three million dollars to these people.
Not because of who she was.
Because of what she owned.
“Where is Rebecca?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who took the flash drive?”
Ryan looked confused.
“What flash drive?”
I watched him carefully.
He genuinely seemed surprised.
“Dad left one in his safe.”
Ryan leaned closer.
“If Rebecca gets it, you’re in trouble.”
“Why?”
“Because it contains the access key.”
My hands went cold.
“The key to what?”
“The company.”
I stood immediately.
Ryan called after me.
“Emily!”
I stopped at the door.
“There’s something else.”
I turned.
His expression had changed.
He looked afraid.
“Your father didn’t die from a heart attack.”
I stared at him.
“What did you say?”
“Rebecca told Mom years ago that Charles Bennett had to be removed before the plan could continue.”
My knees weakened.
“My father died in his sleep.”
Ryan shook his head.
“I heard Mom and Rebecca arguing about it once.”
“About what?”
“About which one of them actually killed him.”
I walked out before Ryan could say another word.
Detective Martinez was already calling his supervisor.
They were reopening my father’s death investigation.
Then my phone rang.
Mrs. Parker.
I answered.
“Emily?”
She sounded panicked.
“What happened?”
“Someone is at your house.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Rebecca?”
“No.”
Mrs. Parker’s next words froze me.
“She says she’s Lily’s grandmother.”
“That’s impossible. Diane is in jail.”
“I know.”
“Then who is she?”
May you like
Mrs. Parker whispered,
“She says she’s your mother.”
