Chapter 8 - Vanessa Talks
Vanessa asked for a lawyer of her own.
That was the moment Grant understood she was leaving him behind.
“You don’t do this,” he said as officers moved her into a separate room.
She looked back once. “You already did.”
Two hours later, Vanessa requested to speak with Detective Bell.
Claire was not allowed in the interview room, but Bell returned afterward with the kind of expression that told Richard something major had shifted.
“She’s cooperating,” he said.
Claire sat upright despite the pain in her ribs. “About what?”
“About the finances. The forged medical history. The trust documents.”
“And the pillow?”
Bell paused.
“She claims she believed Grant was only trying to frighten you into signing.”
Claire gave a bitter laugh. “She stood there smiling.”
“I’m not asking you to forgive her.”
“What else?” Richard asked.
Bell glanced toward Lily, who had fallen asleep in a chair with her head against Richard’s coat.
“There’s more, but I’d rather discuss it without the child present.”
Richard called Claire’s sister, Megan, to take Lily home.
When the door closed, Bell spoke.
“Vanessa says Grant has been moving money out of Mercer Development for nearly two years. He used shell companies. Fake consulting contracts. He expected an audit in November.”
Claire frowned. “How much?”
“Possibly more than twelve million dollars.”
Richard whistled softly.
Bell continued. “Your trust could cover the missing money before the audit if Grant gained control.”
“So this wasn’t about divorce,” Claire said.
“No.”
“It was about hiding theft.”
“Yes.”
Claire turned toward the window.
She remembered Grant complaining about cash flow. Grant insisting she sign routine documents. Grant becoming furious when she started asking questions.
“How long has Vanessa been involved?”
Bell hesitated.
“Longer than their affair.”
Claire looked back.
“What does that mean?”
Bell handed her a photograph recovered from the flash drive.
It showed Vanessa and Grant standing together at a charity gala.
The date was seven years earlier.
Claire and Grant had been married only one year.
In the background was another face Claire recognized.
Her mother.
The woman who had died in a car crash six months after that gala.
Claire’s fingers went numb.
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