Chapter 7 – The Little Girl at the GateThe girl was wearing pink sneakers.

That was the first thing I noticed.

Not her face.

Not the dark curls falling over her shoulders.

Not the small stuffed rabbit clutched against her chest.

Her sneakers.

They were scuffed at the toes and decorated with tiny silver stars.

She looked like a child who loved running through parks and jumping into puddles.

A child who should have been worrying about school lunches and bedtime stories.

Not standing outside a billionaire’s estate while adults fought over money.

Victoria Lane stood beside her, looking nothing like the polished woman in the Palm Beach photograph.

Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail.

She wore jeans and a plain white blouse.

Dark circles shadowed her eyes.

When she saw me approaching with Rebecca and Marcus, she straightened.

“Emily.”

I stopped several feet away.

“Why are you here?”

Victoria glanced at the little girl.

“Because I don’t know who else to trust.”

I almost laughed.

“That’s an interesting thing to say to your lover’s wife.”

She lowered her eyes.

“I deserve that.”

Rebecca stepped forward.

“Ms. Lane, I’m Rebecca Shaw. I’m representing Ms. Carter in certain financial matters. You indicated that you had information.”

Victoria nodded.

“Can we speak somewhere private?”

Rebecca looked toward the child.

“Is there someone who can supervise your daughter while we talk?”

The little girl clutched Victoria’s hand.

“I don’t want Mommy to go.”

Victoria crouched beside her.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”

The child looked at me.

“Are you Emily?”

My stomach tightened.

“Yes.”

She studied my face.

“Mommy said you’re nice.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.

“Her name is Sophie.”

I looked at the child again.

“Hello, Sophie.”

She held up her stuffed rabbit.

“This is Mr. Buttons.”

Despite everything, I smiled.

“That’s a very important-looking rabbit.”

Sophie nodded solemnly.

“He helps when people get loud.”

Something in my chest twisted.

I knew too well what that meant.

We met inside the estate’s small library.

Sophie stayed in the adjoining sitting room with a trusted staff member after Victoria confirmed she was comfortable.

The door remained open.

Victoria sat across from Rebecca and me.

My father remained nearby at my request.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Then Victoria took a deep breath.

“Sophie isn’t Daniel’s daughter.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“She’s my niece. My sister died three years ago. I’ve been raising her since.”

I felt embarrassed by how quickly I’d assumed otherwise.

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

Victoria nodded.

“Thank you.”

Rebecca opened her notebook.

“Ms. Lane, you said Daniel was planning to leave the country.”

Victoria leaned forward.

“He’s been moving money.”

My father spoke.

“How do you know?”

“Because I helped create some of the companies he used.”

Rebecca’s pen stopped.

Victoria looked at me.

“I need you to understand something. I wasn’t innocent in this.”

I said nothing.

“I wanted revenge against the Whitmore family,” she continued. “My father spent his entire life believing Henry Whitmore cheated him out of his inheritance.”

She clasped her hands tightly.

“When I was seventeen, my father died after years of legal fights. He was bitter. Angry. He told me the Whitmores had taken everything from us.”

Nathan had mentioned the dispute.

But hearing Victoria describe it made the history feel painfully human.

“I spent years trying to prove him right,” she said.

“And Daniel?” I asked.

“He contacted me two years ago.”

I frowned.

“Not the other way around?”

She shook her head.

“He said he knew how to help me recover what my father had lost. He promised that if I helped him restructure certain assets, he’d support reopening the family’s ownership dispute.”

“Did you believe him?”

“At first.”

My hands tightened.

“And the affair?”

Victoria closed her eyes.

“Yes. We had a relationship.”

I looked away.

Hearing her admit it hurt more than I expected.

Six years of marriage.

Six years of anniversaries and holidays.

And all along, Daniel had been building another life.

Victoria continued.

“I know apologizing won’t fix what I’ve done.”

“No,” I said quietly. “It won’t.”

She nodded.

“But I ended the relationship last month.”

“Why?”

“Because I learned he was using me, too.”

Rebecca leaned forward.

“How?”

Victoria removed a small drive from her handbag.

“These files contain company communications, banking records I lawfully retained, and documents Daniel sent me.”

She placed it on the table.

“There’s also a recording.”

My father exchanged a glance with Rebecca.

Victoria continued.

“Daniel asked me to help move money through one of the Magnolia companies. When I questioned where it came from, he told me it was his.”

“And it wasn’t?” Rebecca asked.

“Some of it appears to have come from funds connected to Rosewood Gardens.”

I felt cold.