Chapter 2 - The Missing Millions
The hospital room was quiet except for the steady, reassuring heartbeat of my baby on the monitor.
Sarah, my attorney and oldest friend, walked through the door at 2:00 AM.
She didn't look like someone who had just left a New Year's Eve party.
Her jaw was tight, and she carried a thick manila folder.
"How is the baby?" she asked softly, sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Safe," I said, placing a hand over the bandage on my stomach. "What did you find?"
Sarah opened the folder and handed me a stack of bank statements.
"Ryan has been forging your signature for the last eight months."
I stared at the highlighted numbers, my chest tightening.
"Forging my signature on what?"
"Your private investment accounts," Sarah explained.
"He set up a shell company called 'Evergreen Holdings' in Delaware."
I scanned the documents, my eyes catching a horrific number.
"He transferred two million dollars?" I gasped.
"Two point four," Sarah corrected grimly.
"He used his power of attorney. The one you signed when you had that surgery last year."
Bile rose in my throat.
I hadn't just married a coward; I had married a parasite.
"Where did the money go?" I demanded.
"That's the worst part," Sarah said, leaning in closer.
"It went directly to a commercial real estate project."
I closed my eyes, suddenly realizing the truth.
"Grant's failing strip mall in Boulder."
"Exactly," Sarah confirmed.
"Grant was going bankrupt. Ryan stole your money to bail his father out."
The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity.
Grant hadn't just been acting like he owned my penthouse.
He thought he literally owned everything that was mine.
"That's why Ryan was so terrified when I walked out," I whispered.
"He knew that if we divorced, the forensic accounting would expose him."
"It's felony wire fraud, Claire," Sarah said.
"And now, with the assault charge, they are both looking at real prison time."
My phone buzzed on the nightstand.
It was a text from Brooke: Claire, please come home. We can talk about this. Dad is sorry.
I showed the screen to Sarah.
She sneered. "Are you going to reply?"
"No," I said, handing the phone to her.
"I want you to freeze every joint account we have."
Sarah smiled, a predatory gleam in her eye.
"Already done, Claire. By 9:00 AM, Ryan won't be able to buy a cup of coffee."
May you like
"Good," I said, leaning back against the pillows.
"Now, let's talk about those security tapes in my living room."
