Chapter 3 - The Unraveling
Daniel lunged forward, snatching the papers out of my hands with a feral snarl. He flipped through the pages, his eyes bulging as he read the ironclad clauses Arthur Vance had constructed. Every loophole was sealed; every contingency was accounted for. Harold had documented Daniel’s reckless financial loans, his illicit corporate draws, and his repeated attempts to leverage family heirlooms for speculative real estate ventures. Harold had known everything.
“This is fraudulent!” Daniel bellowed, shaking the papers violently in the quiet library. “You manipulated him! When he was sick on morphine, you poisoned his mind against me! You sat in that hospital room and played the dutiful daughter-in-law just to steal my birthright!”
“Silence!” Rosemary’s voice cracked through the room with thunderous force. She stood tall, her eyes blazing with a fury she had kept suppressed for years. “Do not dare speak of your father’s mind! Harold was sharper on his deathbed than you will ever be in your life! He asked for you three times the night before he slipped into a coma. Three times! And where were you, Daniel? You sent a junior project manager to deliver a fruit basket while you checked into the Ritz-Carlton with Ms. Prescott!”
Jade jumped to her feet as if the sofa cushions had caught fire. Her face was chalky white, her hand clutched over her mouth. “Daniel... you told me the inheritance was already settled. You told me the board gave you unilateral signing authority to convert the manor!”
“Shut up, Jade!” Daniel snapped, completely dropping the charming, smooth demeanor he had performed at dinner. He turned on her with venomous eyes. “Not now!”
Jade looked at him in total horror, stepping backward toward the library doors. “You lied to me. You told me your marriage was an administrative technicality! You told me Maggie agreed to a no-contest settlement and that the investment capital was guaranteed by your father’s trust!”
“I said shut your mouth!” Daniel roared, his polished exterior entirely shattered.
“She isn't the only one who knows about your lies, Daniel,” I said, my voice rising over his frantic rage. I reached into my handbag resting beside the chair and pulled out a sleek silver flash drive, placing it deliberately on Harold’s desk. “Harold gave me the legal authority to audit Hollis Construction. Over the past four months, forensic accountants have reviewed every ledger in your firm. You didn't just spend corporate funds on dinners and jewelry for Jade. You embezzled six hundred and forty thousand dollars from the state infrastructure escrow account to cover your margin calls on private crypto investments.”
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Daniel stopped dead in his tracks. The color drained from his face so fast he looked like a corpse. His mouth worked soundlessly, trying to formulate a defense that no longer existed.
“The attorney general’s office has already received a preliminary inquiry from Arthur Vance,” I continued, standing up slowly, my head held high, my hand resting proudly over my swollen belly. “The only thing protecting you from an immediate criminal indictment until today was Harold’s instruction that I wait until after Thanksgiving to deliver the audit findings to the board of directors. But bringing your mistress into my home, sitting her at my table, and insulting your mother in her own dining room? You just ran out of time.”
