Chapter 4 - THE MARRIAGE THAT WAS BUILT ON MONEY
I spent most of the morning staring at the prenuptial agreement.
I remembered signing it.
Nathan had told me it was standard.
His mother had even joked about it.
“Just paperwork,” Eleanor had said.
I had trusted them.
I hadn't read every page.
That was my mistake.
Rebecca sat across from me.
“Your father insisted on this clause.”
I looked at the document.
“If either spouse engages in physical violence, financial control, or intentional fraud against the other, certain assets become protected.”
I frowned.
“What assets?”
Rebecca pointed to the next section.
My grandmother's inheritance.
My investment accounts.
The house I had purchased before marriage.
All of them had been protected.
Nathan had never had access to them.
I looked up.
“Then why did he keep asking for money?”
“Because he couldn't legally take those assets.”
“So he used the family expenses.”
“Yes.”
The agreement contained another provision.
If Nathan used my identity to obtain debt without my consent, he could lose any claim to marital assets.
I felt something inside me shift.
For five years, I had believed I was trapped.
But perhaps I had never been.
I had simply been manipulated.
Rebecca continued.
“Your father also included a financial audit clause.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have the right to inspect any account or debt connected to your marriage.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Nathan told me I was being controlling whenever I asked about money.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“That was probably intentional.”
I thought about every conversation.
Every time I had asked why we were sending more money to his family.
Every time Nathan had said:
“Don't you trust me?”
And I had apologized.
I had believed love meant trusting someone without asking questions.
Nathan had used that belief against me.
Then Marcus sent another file.
This one was about the beginning of our relationship.
I met Nathan at a charity event.
He had been charming.
Funny.
Attentive.
He remembered small details.
He sent flowers.
He told me I was different from everyone else.
I had thought it was romantic.
The investigation revealed something else.
Nathan had known about my inheritance before we met.
My father's financial advisor had been approached by someone asking questions about my accounts.
That someone was Nathan's former business partner.
The questions were specific.
How much money did Claire have?
Was the inheritance protected?
Did she have access to additional assets?
I stared at the report.
Nathan had researched me.
Before we met.
Then came the worst discovery.
Nathan had not been the only person involved.
Allison Reed had helped him.
Allison was my best friend.
We had known each other since college.
She had been my maid of honor.
She had held my hand when I cried.
She had told me Nathan was perfect.
Marcus showed me records of conversations between Allison and Nathan.
I couldn't read them.
“No,” I whispered.
Rebecca said nothing.
I finally looked.
The first message was from Nathan.
Do you know what Claire's father left her?
Allison replied:
Why are you asking me?
Nathan:
Because you're her closest friend.
Allison:
She trusts me.
Nathan:
Exactly.
My hands went numb.
There were dozens of messages.
Allison had told Nathan about my fears.
My financial habits.
My relationship with my father.
She had even told him that I hated conflict.
Nathan had used every piece of information.
I closed the file.
“I can't believe this.”
Marcus said quietly:
“There's more.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Your father discovered the relationship between Nathan and Allison.”
I stared.
“Relationship?”
Marcus nodded.
“Not romantic.”
“Then what?”
“Allison was not helping Nathan because she wanted money.”
“Why was she helping him?”
Marcus slid a final document toward me.
It was a message from Allison to Nathan.
If you hurt her, I will expose everything.
I read it twice.
Then I looked up.
“Why would she say that?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Instead, he played a video.
It showed Allison entering Nathan's office.
She was angry.
Nathan was shouting.
Allison slammed a folder onto his desk.
“You promised you wouldn't use her identity.”
Nathan replied:
“You don't get to threaten me.”
Allison pointed at him.
“You're going to stop.”
“Or what?”
“I tell Claire everything.”
The video ended.
I stared at the screen.
For five years, I had believed Allison was part of the betrayal.
Maybe she had been trying to stop it.
Then Rebecca looked at me.
“Claire, there is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The loan document you never signed.”
She placed it in front of me.
At the bottom was the name of the witness.
I recognized it immediately.
My father.
I froze.
“He died three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then how did he witness this document?”
May you like
Rebecca looked at me.
“That is the question.”
