Chapter 10 - Grant Runs
Grant made it to the parking garage.
Not the airport.
Not a private jet.
Just the garage.
Police stopped him before he reached his car because the venue had already restricted exits during evidence collection.
His attorney shouted about unlawful detention.
The bank stopped the transfer.
The account was frozen.
Grant’s phone was later seized under warrant.
The messages between him and Claire were devastating.
Grant:
MARGARET FOUND BRIGHTWELL.
Claire:
I’ll handle her.
Grant:
HOW?
Claire:
She wants Daniel happy more than she wants to be right.
Daniel read that sentence three times.
Claire knew his mother’s love.
Used it against her.
Another exchange:
Grant:
If she tells Daniel before the wedding, we’re dead.
Claire:
She won’t get near him.
Then:
Grant:
What if she leaves the cottage?
Claire:
She won’t. Wade has her phone.
No misunderstanding.
Daniel stopped reading.
His attorney, Rachel Kim, arrived before sunrise.
Yes, the same Rachel Kim who had represented the Hayes Foundation for years.
She looked at the marriage license.
Because Claire’s fraud predated the wedding and involved deliberate concealment, Daniel might have grounds to seek an annulment depending on what the court found.
Daniel barely cared about the label.
“What protects the foundation?”
Rachel looked surprised.
“First question?”
“My mother’s name is on forged approvals.”
“Then we clear her name.”
Emma had already started an independent forensic audit.
Robert called an emergency board meeting.
Margaret refused to attend until she slept.
For once, everyone listened.
Daniel sat beside her hotel bed.
“You should rest.”
She gave him a tired smile.
“Claire said the same thing.”
Margaret immediately regretted it.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Don’t protect me from that.”
She studied him.
Before falling asleep, she said:
“There’s one more envelope.”
Daniel frowned.
“Where?”
“In the cottage.”
“What’s in it?”
May you like
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Something Claire never expected me to find.”
