Chapter 6
I did not go alone.
I went with an attorney, two private security officers, and a recording device Claire assured me was legal.
Diane had chosen a downtown restaurant with glass walls and white tablecloths.
Public.
Elegant.
Safe-looking.
People like Diane loved safe-looking places.
It made ugly behavior seem respectable.
She was already seated when I arrived.
Ryan sat beside her.
Victor Lane sat across from them.
No red case.
I took the empty chair.
Claire sat beside me.
Diane frowned.
“I told you to come alone.”
“And I stopped taking instructions from you yesterday.”
Ryan looked exhausted.
He had changed clothes, but not his attitude.
“Emily, this has gone too far.”
Claire opened a folder.
“You removed property from a secured office belonging to Carter Residential Trust Three.”
Victor held up a hand.
“My client denies removing anything.”
I looked at Ryan.
“Then why did your mother say she’d return my father’s documents?”
Victor turned sharply toward Diane.
Diane’s lips thinned.
“I said we had information.”
“No,” Claire said. “You said documents.”
Diane’s eyes flashed.
Ryan leaned forward.
“We can fix this.”
I stared at him.
“Fix what?”
“Our marriage.”
Claire glanced at me.
Even Victor looked surprised.
Ryan reached across the table.
I moved my hand away.
“I was angry,” he said. “Mom pushed too hard. You embarrassed me. I reacted.”
“You threw a broom at me.”
“I didn’t hit you.”
“You tried.”
“I threw it toward you.”
I almost admired the stupidity of that defense.
“And the trust account?”
His expression changed.
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Someone tried to access it from the house.”
“Then ask your staff.”
Diane jumped in.
“Exactly.”
I looked at her.
“Did you disable the office camera?”
“No.”
“Did Ryan?”
“No.”
“Did either of you enter the office?”
“No.”
Claire slid a document across the table.
“Then you won’t object to providing your phones and laptops for forensic review.”
Ryan laughed.
“Absolutely not.”
Victor touched his arm.
“Let me handle this.”
Claire smiled.
“That answer will be useful.”
Ryan glared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means we’re filing for an emergency preservation order this afternoon.”
Diane’s confidence finally cracked.
“You can’t take our private property.”
“We can ask a judge to preserve evidence connected to theft, unauthorized computer access, and potential extortion.”
“Extortion?” Diane said.
Claire tapped the voicemail transcript.
Diane turned pale.
Ryan looked at his mother.
“What did you say to her?”
Diane snapped, “I was trying to protect you.”
“You threatened her?”
“She threw us into the street!”
Claire closed the folder.
“I think we’re done.”
Ryan stood.
“No.”
People at nearby tables turned.
He lowered his voice.
“Sit down, Emily.”
I slowly looked up at him.
Something old rose inside me.
Not fear.
Memory.
The way my father once told me that control often sounded ordinary.
Sit down.
Be quiet.
Don’t embarrass me.
Trust me.
I stood too.
“No.”
Ryan clenched his jaw.
“We’re still married.”
“Not for long.”
The words came out before I had formally decided.
But once they were there, I knew they were true.
His face emptied.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
Diane grabbed her purse.
“Then give him half.”
Claire smiled.
“The parties signed a prenuptial agreement.”
Diane blinked.
Ryan didn’t.
He knew.
But his mother clearly didn’t.
She stared at him.
“You signed what?”
Ryan sat slowly.
“Mom.”
“You told me you didn’t!”
I froze.
So did Claire.
Diane realized her mistake too late.
I leaned forward.
“He told you what?”
Nothing.
“Diane.”
She stood.
“I’m leaving.”
Ryan grabbed her wrist.
“Sit down.”
“No!”
“You said—”
“Shut up.”
That single phrase changed everything between them.
Ryan stared at his mother.
She stared back.
Two people who had rehearsed a plan and suddenly forgotten the script.
Claire saw it too.
“What exactly did Mr. Hayes tell you about his prenup?”
Victor stood.
“This meeting is over.”
Diane pulled away from Ryan and stormed toward the exit.
Ryan followed.
I called after him.
“Where is the red case?”
He stopped.
For one second, I thought he might answer.
Then he turned.
“You want it?”
“Yes.”
“Drop the divorce.”
I felt Claire tense beside me.
Ryan gave me a sad little smile.
“Come home with me. Tell the police this was a misunderstanding. Call off your lawyers.”
“And then?”
“We start over.”
“You threatened to expose my dead father.”
His smile disappeared.
“You left me no choice.”
I looked at the man I had married.
For the first time, I understood him completely.
He didn’t love me enough to stop hurting me.
He loved access to me.
My house.
My name.
My inheritance.
My silence.
I said, “Keep the case.”
Ryan blinked.
Claire turned toward me.
I continued.
“Whatever is inside it, I’ll find another way to prove.”
His face tightened.
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
He walked out.
Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed.
A photo from an unknown number.
Ryan sitting in a car.
Diane beside him.
And on Diane’s lap—
the red leather case.
May you like
Below it were six words.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO CHOOSE.
