Chapter 4 - The Architecture of a Lie
“You didn't introduce us by accident,” I said, my voice eerily steady as I looked at Vivian.
Daniel and I had met at a charity gala. He had been charming, attentive, a perfect gentleman who swept in exactly when I was feeling the pressure of my mother’s declining health.
“She needed a foothold,” my father said, standing beside me. “Your mother caught the discrepancies in the quarterly audits four years ago. She was building a case to hand over to the feds, but she got sick before she could finish it.”
Vivian sneered. “She was weak. She trusted the wrong vendors. I just took advantage of the blind spots.”
“So you sent Daniel,” I said. The sickening truth washed over me, turning my stomach. The romantic dinners, the sudden proposal, the aggressive push to move in together. It wasn't love. It was an infiltration.
I looked at Daniel. He was sweating now. “I didn't know about the money, Claire! I swear to God! She just told me her business was struggling and that marrying into your family would merge our assets. I didn't know she was stealing from you!”
“You didn't know she was stealing,” I repeated, my tone devoid of pity. “You just thought it was perfectly fine to slowly destroy my sanity, cut me off from my friends, and forge my signature to steal my inheritance to cover your mother's debts.”
Daniel opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked at Vivian, waiting for her to defend him.
She didn't even glance his way. “He was always a blunt instrument,” Vivian muttered. “I told him to keep you compliant, not to leave marks on your face on the exact night we needed the paperwork to go through smoothly.”
Elena pulled a document from the bottom of the safe. She unfolded it and frowned. “Marcus. You need to see this.”
My father took the paper. He read it silently, his jaw tightening. He looked at me, then at Vivian, his eyes narrowing with a cold, terrifying fury.
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“Claire didn't just find out about the forgery three weeks ago,” my father said to Vivian. “Your mistake was thinking my wife was as stupid as you are.”
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