Chapter 5 - The Gaslight
Daniel showed up at my condo three days later.
He looked different. Tired. His usually immaculate hair was disheveled, and there were shadows under his eyes. He was wearing a new watch—a Patek Philippe, rose gold, easily forty thousand dollars.
I noticed it immediately.
"Emily." He stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. "Can we talk?"
I leaned against the frame. "We're talking."
"Can I come in?"
"No."
He sighed. "I know you're upset. But you're being paranoid. My family is not trying to steal from you."
I tilted my head. "Then why did I find a forged trust amendment in your cloud storage?"
His jaw tightened. "That was a mistake. I was going to tell you about it."
"When? After you drained my accounts?"
"I haven't drained anything." He pulled out his phone. "Look. The joint accounts—I can remove myself. Right now. Just say the word."
I watched him. He was good. I had to give him that. The earnest expression, the slight tremble in his voice, the way he leaned forward like he was genuinely desperate to make things right.
But I had spent eight years watching men like him lie under oath. Daniel was an amateur.
"The joint accounts aren't the problem," I said. "The problem is that you lied to me about being married before."
He went still.
"Melissa Crane," I continued. "California. Eight years ago. What happened to her, Daniel?"
His face changed. The earnest expression vanished, replaced by something harder. "Who told you that?"
"Doesn't matter. What matters is that you lied."
"It was a long time ago. It didn't work out."
"Didn't work out?" I stepped closer. "She signed over all her assets to you, and then she disappeared. That's not a divorce. That's a pattern."
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "You've been investigating me."
"I've been protecting myself." I crossed my arms. "And I'm going to keep protecting myself. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave. You're going to tell your family that I need space. And you're going to stay away from me until I decide what to do next."
He laughed. A cold, humorless sound. "You think you're in control?"
"I think you've made a serious mistake." I met his gaze. "You assumed I was like Melissa. Someone you could manipulate. Someone who would sign whatever you put in front of her." I paused. "But I read contracts for a living. And I don't sign anything without understanding it."
Daniel's hands curled into fists. "You don't know what you're dealing with."
"I know exactly what I'm dealing with." I pulled out my phone and held it up. "And I've been recording every conversation we've had since the dinner."
His face went white.
"So here's your choice," I said. "You can walk away now, and I'll consider not forwarding these recordings to the district attorney. Or you can keep threatening me, and I'll add attempted coercion to the list of charges."
Daniel stared at me. For a long moment, neither of us moved.
Then he turned and walked away.
May you like
I closed the door, locked it, and slid down to the floor. My hands were shaking.
But I had won the first round.
