Chapter 3 - Someone Framed Nadia for Stealing Julian’s Medical Records—But Julian Found a Hidden Recording That Proved She Had Been Set Up Before the WeddingJulian's recovery accelerated.
He moved from intensive care to a private rehabilitation floor.
Nadia remained close.
Rosalind remained engaged publicly.
The press knew Julian had awakened.
The wedding photographs became a scandal.
Everyone wanted to know why the new Mrs. Whitmore was a maid.
The media called Nadia everything.
Opportunist.
Gold digger.
Secret lover.
Fraud.
Nadia ignored it.
She had survived worse.
But the accusations affected Ivy.
School administrators suddenly asked questions.
Neighbors stared.
One evening, Nadia came home to find her apartment door open.
She froze.
She checked.
Nothing appeared stolen.
Then she saw Ivy's room.
A photograph was missing.
The photograph of Ivy and Nadia.
A note lay on the pillow.
YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID YES THE FIRST TIME.
Nadia called Julian.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“My apartment.”
“Leave.”
“I can't.”
“Nadia.”
“Ivy is here.”
“I'll come.”
He arrived within minutes.
He didn't care about security protocols.
He walked directly upstairs.
Saw the note.
His expression changed.
“This is my fault.”
“No.”
“You were targeted because of me.”
“I was targeted because of them.”
He looked at her.
“Then we'll end it.”
Nadia almost smiled.
“You make it sound easy.”
“It isn't.”
He stepped closer.
“But I'm awake now.”
The words felt heavier than they sounded.
They investigated the break-in.
Security footage showed no forced entry.
Someone had used a master key.
Only five people had access.
Rosalind.
Julian's father’s former chief of staff.
The head of security.
A trustee.
And Nadia.
But Nadia's key had never been used.
The security system was being manipulated.
Julian ordered an external forensic team.
They found hidden software.
Someone had installed a program that allowed remote access to cameras.
The programmer had used a temporary account.
The account belonged to the family trust.
The trust administrator?
Rosalind.
But there was another name attached.
Richard Hale.
Rosalind's father.
Julian stared.
“Bring me everything on Richard Hale.”
The investigator returned the next morning.
Richard had a long history of financial manipulation.
He had been investigated for fraud.
Never convicted.
He had connections in private equity.
Shipping.
Real estate.
And one company Julian had unknowingly acquired two years earlier.
The acquisition had given Richard access to Whitmore assets.
Julian felt sick.
“He's been inside my company this entire time.”
“Yes.”
“And Rosalind knew?”
“We believe so.”
Julian looked at Nadia.
She was holding Ivy.
The child had fallen asleep.
He lowered his voice.
“I need to tell you something.”
Nadia looked at him.
“I remember the night before the accident.”
Her face changed.
“What?”
“I had an argument with Rosalind.”
“About?”
“I told her I was canceling the wedding.”
“Why?”
“Because I found evidence she was transferring money.”
Nadia froze.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“My mother.”
“She's dead.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard?”
“No.”
He looked troubled.
“I don't remember everything.”
Nadia suddenly recalled something.
“What if your accident wasn't an accident?”
Julian stared.
“I've wondered.”
She told him about her husband.
The accident.
The company.
The missing money.
“I never proved anything.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“What was his company?”
She named it.
Julian went still.
“That company was one of Richard's suppliers.”
Nadia felt cold.
Her husband had been involved too.
“Do you think he knew?”
“He might have.”
Julian stood.
“We need to find his records.”
They searched.
Her husband's old company had been liquidated after his death.
But one archive remained.
A storage unit.
Nadia had never known.
They found it through an old invoice.
Inside were boxes.
Ledgers.
Invoices.
Photographs.
And a recording.
Her husband.
He was speaking into a camera.
“Nadia, if you're watching this, I'm gone.”
She covered her mouth.
Julian watched.
The recording continued.
“I found out what they're doing.”
“The Whitmore acquisition wasn't about real estate.”
“It was about control.”
Richard Hale had built a network of shell companies.
He used bankrupt businesses to move money.
Julian's company was the biggest target.
And someone inside the Whitmore family was helping him.
The recording named Rosalind.
Then another name.
Daniel Mercer.
Julian's chief financial officer.
Nadia stared.
Julian looked stunned.
Daniel had been with him for eight years.
Trusted.
Loyal.
Or so he thought.
The recording ended.
A second recording started.
Julian's father.
Richard Whitmore.
Alive.
Older.
Angry.
He was speaking to someone.
“I told you my son wouldn't cooperate.”
A voice answered.
Richard Hale.
Then Rosalind's voice.
Julian closed his eyes.
His family had known.
For years.
They were planning to take the company.
Not just marry into it.
Control it.
Destroy Julian's authority.
Then use his death to trigger the final transfer.
Nadia looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Don't apologize for what they did.”
“What now?”
He looked at the recordings.
“Now we expose them.”
But Daniel was already gone.
He had disappeared.
And when they searched his house, they found one message.
THE MONEY ISN'T THE REAL PRIZE.
Below it:
THE REAL PRIZE IS NADIA.
Julian stared.
“Why me?”
Nadia whispered:
“Maybe because I know something.”
“What?”
“I just don't remember.”
Then she remembered.
A conversation her husband had with Richard Hale.
Years ago.
A code word.
May you like
A location.
And suddenly, she knew where the final evidence was hidden.
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