I stared at him.

“You stole four million dollars for a dead woman.”

“I did not steal.”

“Then what did you do?”

“It was an investment.”

“In her shell company?”

Daniel’s eyes flashed.

“You don’t know how these structures work.”

That almost sounded like the old Daniel.

The condescending Daniel.

The man who explained investments to me even though my family trust funded his entire lifestyle.

Marcus closed the binder.

“Detective, we can provide the decrypted communications now.”

Daniel went completely still.

I turned to Marcus.

“What communications?”

He answered quietly.

“We recovered part of an encrypted cloud backup connected to Mr. Vance’s laptop. The cyber-crimes unit completed the decryption less than an hour ago.”

My chest tightened.

“Messages?”

“Video.”

Daniel’s face changed.

“No.”

Marcus looked at him.

“Yes.”

“No, you can’t use that.”

The detective immediately focused on him.

“Why not?”

Daniel realized his mistake.

“I mean—it’s private.”

The detective almost smiled.

Marcus nodded toward the dining room.

“We’ll need a larger screen.”

Patricia suddenly stepped forward.

“This has gone far enough.”

An officer blocked her.

“You need to stay here.”

“No. I’m leaving.”

“Not yet.”

“You can’t detain me.”

The lead detective looked down at his tablet.

“Actually, Mrs. Vance, given several outgoing wire authorizations linked to accounts under your control, we have questions for you too.”

Her face drained.

I stared at her.

“What accounts?”

Patricia shook her head.

“No.”

The detective continued.

“Three transfers moved through a discretionary account bearing your name before reaching the Caribbean entity.”

“I didn’t know where the money was going.”

“You authorized them.”

“Daniel asked me to.”

She looked at her son.

And there it was.

The first crack between them.

Daniel stared back at her.

“Stop talking.”

The detective noticed.

So did Marcus.

So did I.

Patricia’s voice shook.

“You said it was temporary.”

“Mother.”

“You said after the house transferred, everything would be fixed.”

My breath caught.

Daniel snapped, “Shut up.”

She recoiled.

I stepped toward her.

“After what house transferred?”

Patricia realized too late.

Daniel closed his eyes.

Marcus quietly said, “Bellhaven.”

The pieces locked together.

The forged loans had gotten them four million dollars.

But it had not been enough.

Daniel needed the estate.

A property worth several times the stolen loan amount.

He had spent months trying to convince me to sign it into joint ownership.

And Victoria was waiting.

Somewhere in Belize.

Alive.

I felt sick.

The detective connected his tablet to the dining room television.

A file appeared on the screen.

Timestamped forty-eight hours earlier.

Daniel whispered, “Emily.”

I turned toward him.

“What?”

“Don’t watch this.”

That was the moment I knew I had to.

The detective pressed play.

The image flickered.

And a woman appeared on the screen.

Blonde hair.

Tanned skin.

White linen dress.

Behind her, turquoise water glittered beneath a tropical sun.

She was older than the photograph Patricia had kept.

But unmistakably the same woman.

Victoria Vance.

Alive.

Smiling.

Waiting for my husband.

Her voice came through the speakers.

“Once that idiot signs over the deed, we sell the mansion and disappear forever.”

My knees nearly gave out.

Daniel appeared in a smaller window.

Sitting in the study.

My father’s study.

He smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

He leaned toward the camera.

“She’ll never find out you’re alive.”

I closed my eyes.

But the video kept playing.

And Daniel kept destroying himself.