Chapter 4 - My Mother Had Been Preparing for This
Eleanor Grant agreed to meet me.
Not at a police station.
Not at her office.
At an old diner outside the city.
She arrived wearing a brown coat.
She looked older than I remembered.
But her eyes were sharp.
“You look like your mother.”
I sat across from her.
“What did my mother know?”
“Everything.”
I swallowed.
“About Daniel?”
“No.”
She leaned closer.
“About men like Daniel.”
Eleanor explained that my mother had seen patterns in financial abuse.
She knew wealthy men often hid money behind respectable businesses.
She also knew that reputation could be used as a weapon.
When my mother discovered Daniel had been asking questions about my inheritance, she became suspicious.
She hired Eleanor.
Then she created a contingency plan.
“If anything happens to me,” my mother had said, “Claire needs to have a way out.”
Eleanor handed me a small key.
“What is this?”
“Your mother's safety deposit box.”
I stared at it.
“I thought it was closed.”
“It was.”
“Then how?”
“Your mother renewed it before she died.”
We went to the bank.
Inside the box were photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
A flash drive.
And one handwritten note.
Claire, if you are reading this, don't trust the man you married.
I began crying.
Eleanor placed a hand over mine.
“Your mother loved you.”
“Why didn't she warn me?”
“She tried.”
“What?”
“She called you.”
I looked up.
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
I remembered.
My mother had called.
But Daniel had been beside me.
He had taken the phone.
He told me she was confused.
I never spoke to her again.
I covered my mouth.
“Daniel intercepted the call.”
“Yes.”
Eleanor looked devastated.
“Your mother was trying to tell you that Daniel had approached her about your inheritance.”
I couldn't breathe.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“Before we got married?”
“Yes.”
Everything inside me collapsed.
The marriage.
The romance.
The proposal.
The wedding.
Maybe none of it had been accidental.
Eleanor gave me the flash drive.
“There's a recording.”
I inserted it into a laptop.
My mother's voice filled the room.
“Claire, if you're hearing this, I'm probably gone.”
I began crying immediately.
“I need you to know something.”
The recording continued.
“Daniel Mercer is dangerous.”
I closed my eyes.
“He isn't marrying you because he loves you.”
My hands shook.
“He is marrying you because of the trust.”
The room went silent.
Then my mother's voice said:
“But I don't believe he's working alone.”
The recording ended.
Eleanor looked at me.
“Your mother suspected someone else.”
“Who?”
“She never found out.”
We returned to the police station.
Mara listened to the recording.
Then she looked at me.
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
“If Daniel realizes we have this, he'll disappear.”
“He won't.”
“How do you know?”
I looked at her.
“Because he thinks he already won.”
That night, I went home.
Daniel was sitting in the living room.
He looked at me.
“Where were you?”
“Shopping.”
He smiled.
“You're lying.”
I put my purse down.
“I'm tired.”
He stood.
“Come here.”
I walked toward him.
He touched my face.
“You've been acting differently.”
“I've changed.”
He stared at me.
Then smiled.
“I like you better when you're afraid.”
I forced myself to smile.
“You won't have to wait much longer.”
He frowned.
“What does that mean?”
I kissed his cheek.
“It means tomorrow I'll sign whatever you want.”
His eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He hugged me.
I closed my eyes.
May you like
Inside my pocket was a recording device.
And for the first time, Daniel had no idea what I was planning.
