“Paige contacted us before you did.”

I stared at Daniel.

“That woman was sitting on my kitchen counter wearing my husband’s sweatshirt.”

“I know.”

“She went to Charleston with him.”

“Yes.”

“And now you’re telling me she’s helping you?”

Daniel folded his hands.

“I’m telling you that the situation is more complicated than Evan understands.”

I almost walked out.

But Margaret placed a sealed envelope in front of me.

Inside was a photograph.

Paige Holloway stood outside a hospital.

Beside her was a young woman who looked remarkably like her.

On the back, someone had written:

For Claire. The truth belongs to you.

“Who is Claire?” I asked.

Daniel answered.

“Paige’s older sister.”

I looked up.

“Why does that matter?”

“Because Claire died six years ago after discovering that her father’s investment firm had been used to conceal money stolen from several families.”

My chest tightened.

“One of those families was mine?”

“Yes.”

Daniel explained that Paige had spent nearly three years investigating her father’s company.

She believed Richard Holloway, Patricia, and Thomas Whitaker had used property transactions to conceal money.

When Paige discovered that Evan was attempting to gain control of my inheritance, she approached him.

She pretended to be interested.

Then the relationship became intimate.

I looked away.

“That doesn’t excuse what she did.”

“No,” Daniel said. “It doesn’t.”

For once, someone wasn’t asking me to forgive a betrayal because it served a larger purpose.

He continued.

“Paige told us she believed Evan was single when they first became involved. She discovered he was married several weeks later.”

“And she stayed.”

“Yes.”

I laughed bitterly.

“How noble.”

Daniel didn’t argue.

“She says she stayed because she realized he had access to the documents her father wanted.”

I shook my head.

“She could have warned me.”

“She should have.”

That was the first honest thing anyone had said about Paige.

Then Daniel turned his laptop toward me.

A live video call was waiting.

Paige appeared on the screen.

She wasn’t smiling.

Her hair was tied back, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

“Rachel.”

I said nothing.

“I know you hate me.”

“That’s a generous description.”

She swallowed.

“I’m sorry.”

I looked directly at her.

“Did you know I was pregnant?”

Her expression changed.

“No.”

“Did you know I lost the baby?”

She lowered her eyes.

“Not until Evan told us yesterday.”

“And you still went on the trip?”

“Yes.”

I felt my throat tighten.

“Then don’t ask me to understand you.”

“I’m not asking for that.”

She moved closer to the camera.

“I’m asking you to let me stop what they’re doing.”

Behind her, a door closed.

Paige glanced over her shoulder.

Then she whispered:

“The documents they’re signing today aren’t just about your property.”

“What are they about?”

“Your father’s trust is being used as collateral for a much larger transaction. Once the money moves, they plan to make it look as though you approved everything.”

Margaret leaned forward.

“Paige, do you have the original contracts?”

“Yes.”

“Can you send them?”

“I already did.”

Daniel’s computer chimed.

An encrypted folder appeared.

Inside were financial statements, transfer instructions, correspondence, and copies of forged signatures.

Then Paige said something that made my skin crawl.

“Rachel, Evan knows the medical statement is false.”

I stared at her.

“He signed the instructions requesting it.”

The room fell silent.

There it was.

The last remaining possibility that my husband had been manipulated disappeared.

He knew.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Paige looked into the camera.

“There’s something else. Patricia believes your father hid an original ledger at the lake house. They’re planning to go there after the closing.”

My pulse quickened.

“What ledger?”

“The one that proves where the missing money went.”

I turned to Margaret.

“My father used to keep a locked cabinet in the boathouse.”

Margaret nodded slowly.

“Then we need to secure it.”

Daniel was already making a call.

Within an hour, his team reached the Wisconsin property.

The cabinet was still there.

But the lock had been forced.

And the contents were gone.

I felt sick.

Then one of Daniel’s investigators found something beneath the cabinet.

A narrow compartment hidden under the floorboards.

Inside was a small metal box.

And in that box was a digital recorder.

The label read:

RACHEL — ONLY IF THEY COME BACK.

We played it in Margaret’s office.

My father’s voice filled the room.

“Sweetheart, if you’re hearing this, then Patricia has finally made her move.”

I covered my mouth.

He had been dead for four years.

Hearing his voice nearly broke me.

“I tried to protect you from this. I hoped I was wrong about the people surrounding you.”

A pause.

Then he continued.

“There’s something you need to understand about Thomas Whitaker. His disappearance was not an accident. And Patricia was not working alone.”

The recording crackled.

“The person who helped them is someone you trust.”

I stopped breathing.

My father continued.

“Someone who has been close to you your entire life.”

Then he said a name.

A name I had never expected.

“Margaret Ellis.”

I turned slowly.

Margaret was sitting beside me.

Her face had gone completely white.

Before I could speak, she reached into her handbag.

And locked the office door.