Chapter 9 - The Wife Before Me
I read the marriage license three times.
Then I looked at Valery.
She was standing at the galley counter, facing away from us.
I walked over and held out my phone.
Her face went completely blank.
“You married him.”
She looked at Daniel, then back at me.
“Yes.”
“You said engagement.”
“I said my mother called it an engagement because I didn’t want to drop this on you in the doorway.”
My mouth went dry.
“Were you divorced?”
Valery swallowed.
“I filed after he disappeared.”
“Was it finalized?”
“I thought so.”
“You thought so?”
Daniel stood behind us.
“This is nonsense.”
Valery turned.
“Did you ever sign the Nevada papers?”
He said nothing.
Her eyes widened.
“You didn’t.”
Daniel’s voice stayed quiet. “My attorney handled it.”
“What attorney?”
He looked at me instead.
“Claire, our marriage is legal.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“You’re letting her poison this.”
“No. Your passport is doing a good job on its own.”
His jaw worked.
Valery pulled out her phone.
“My divorce was granted by default because you couldn’t be located. It should still be valid.”
“Should?” I said.
She met my eyes.
“I’m not a lawyer.”
The jet hit light turbulence.
A glass trembled on the counter.
Daniel used the moment to pick up his suitcase and move it beside him.
I noticed a thin black object under his seat.
Not the sunglasses.
A USB drive.
I stepped toward it.
Daniel moved faster.
His shoe came down over it.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
Valery saw it.
Daniel bent, picked up the drive, and slipped it into his pocket.
Then my phone rang again.
This time it was my banker.
I answered on speaker.
“Mrs. Mercer,” he said, “we found six accounts opened in your name that you’ve never used.”
Daniel went perfectly still.
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The expression on his face was not surprise. It was calculation. His eyes moved once toward the galley, once toward the cockpit, then back to me. I finally understood why people trusted him in business. He could recover from almost anything because he treated every disaster like a math problem. But this time, the numbers belonged to me, and I was done letting him solve for my silence.
Private Jet Story - 20 Chapters
