Chapter 8 - The Ex
Rachel Torres was smaller than I expected. She sat in the corner of the coffee shop, a cup of black coffee untouched in front of her, her eyes scanning the room like she was waiting for an ambush.
I sat down across from her. "Thank you for meeting me."
"I almost didn't." She studied my face. "You look like her, you know."
"Like who?"
"Melissa. His first wife. Same eyes. Same way of holding yourself." She paused. "I hope you're smarter than she was."
"I've been told I'm very smart."
Rachel almost smiled. "Good." She reached into her bag and pulled out a thick folder. "This is everything I have. Bank statements. Corporate filings. Emails. Photos."
I opened the folder. The first page was a marriage certificate. Daniel Hawthorne and Melissa Crane. Dated eight years ago. The second page was a divorce decree. Dated eleven months later.
"Melissa signed over everything in the divorce," Rachel said. "Her trust fund. Her inheritance. Her properties. All of it went to Daniel."
"Why?"
"Because he threatened her." Rachel's voice was flat. "He told her that if she didn't sign, he would destroy her reputation. He had photos. Emails. Things he'd manufactured to make her look like she was having an affair. She was terrified."
I turned the page. A photo of Melissa. Blonde, smiling, standing next to Daniel at a vineyard. She looked happy.
"What happened to her?"
"No one knows. After the divorce, she moved to Europe. She stopped answering calls. Her family reported her missing three years ago."
I looked at Rachel. "You think Daniel had something to do with it?"
"I think Daniel has something to do with a lot of things." She leaned forward. "I worked for the family for three years. I saw things. Money moving in ways it shouldn't. Documents disappearing. People getting fired for asking questions."
"Why did you file the whistleblower complaint?"
"Because they tried to do the same thing to me." Her voice hardened. "Daniel asked me to sign something. A document that would have given him control over my retirement account. I refused. He fired me the next day."
I closed the folder. "I need to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"The IRS audit. You triggered it."
"Yes."
"Why now?"
Rachel was quiet for a moment. "Because I heard he was getting married again. And I couldn't let him do it to another woman."
I looked at her. Really looked at her. She was scared. But she was also angry. And that anger had kept her fighting for five years.
"I'm going to stop him," I said. "But I need your help."
"What do you need?"
"Everything. Every document, every email, every conversation you ever had with the family. And I need you to testify."
Rachel's jaw tightened. "If I testify, they'll come after me."
"They'll come after you anyway." I met her gaze. "But if we do this right, they won't be able to touch you. Because they'll be in prison."
May you like
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Okay," she said. "Let's do it."
