Chapter 5 - The Betrayal Inside the BetrayalThe police separated us.
I demanded answers.
Vanessa finally confessed.
She had lied.
Rachel had not simply disappeared.
Vanessa had helped her escape.
But years earlier, Vanessa had also helped Daniel locate her.
“I was afraid,” she said.
“You betrayed her.”
“Yes.”
“And then you came to save me?”
“Yes.”
“Why should I believe you?”
She looked at me through tears.
“Because I spent years trying to undo what I did.”
She told me Rachel had survived an attempted attack.
Vanessa had helped her disappear.
Rachel had been collecting evidence ever since.
But there was more.
The flash drive wasn't merely evidence.
It contained a hidden program.
If opened on Daniel's computer, it would automatically copy encrypted files.
Vanessa had designed it.
She had been working against Daniel for months.
“So you planned the motel.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I'd open the folder.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to see the truth.”
I didn't know whether to trust her.
Then Rachel arrived.
She walked into the police station carrying a thick folder.
I recognized her immediately.
She was the woman from the photograph.
Alive.
She looked at Vanessa.
“You finally did it.”
Vanessa cried.
Rachel hugged her.
Then Rachel turned to me.
“Daniel has been using your name for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't know the worst part.”
She opened the folder.
Inside was a document showing that Daniel had been planning to transfer every remaining asset into my name.
I stared at it.
“Why would he do that?”
“Because if the fraud was discovered, the evidence would point to you.”
I felt sick.
Daniel intended to make me the scapegoat.
Rachel continued.
“He wanted you to take the blame.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
The marriage.
The trust.
The forged documents.
The insurance policy.
The affair.
The violence.
Daniel had built an entire criminal empire around one plan:
Make Evelyn Carter responsible.
Then disappear.
But there was one final piece.
Rachel had obtained a recording of Daniel speaking with a powerful attorney.
The attorney was my uncle.
Richard Carter.
My mother's brother.
The man who had handled my father's estate.
The man who had advised my family for decades.
He had helped Daniel steal everything.
I couldn't breathe.
“Where is he?”
Rachel answered:
“Leaving the country tonight.”
We had less than twelve hours.
Police issued a warrant.
We rushed to the airport.
Daniel was already there.
Richard was beside him.
When they saw us, they ran.
Officers caught Richard.
Daniel disappeared into the crowd.
I thought we had lost him.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
You should have stayed married to me.
Attached was a photograph.
My mother.
Tied to a chair.
My heart stopped.
May you like
Daniel hadn't run away.
He had taken her.
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