Chapter 12 - The Reason She Wanted Him Distracted
The message changed everything.
What had looked like cruelty for cruelty's sake now had another purpose.
Distraction.
Chaos.
Isolation.
Claire had been building a custody battle before Daniel even knew there was a war.
Federal investigators traced the twenty thousand dollars to a consulting firm controlled by Victor Sloane. More payments had gone to Evan through a shell company.
The total was eighty-five thousand dollars.
"For what?" Daniel asked Agent Kim.
"We believe your wife and her brother were helping Sloane collect proprietary information and personal leverage."
"Leverage on me?"
"Yes."
Daniel laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
"She married me."
Kim did not respond.
He understood why.
The marriage had started two years earlier, long before the latest contract dispute. That meant either Claire's motives had changed—or the investigation went back further than anyone realized.
Daniel searched his memory for warning signs.
Claire's curiosity about work.
Her jokes about "secret Navy stuff."
Her insistence on handling household passwords.
Her irritation when Daniel upgraded his phone security.
None of it had seemed important at the time.
That afternoon, Noah asked if Daniel could help him rebuild a wooden model ship they had started months earlier.
They worked at the dining table.
Noah fitted two pieces together and said, "Claire said your job was more important than us."
Daniel put down the glue.
"My job matters. You and Lily matter more."
"Then why did you leave so much?"
The question hit harder than anything Claire had said.
Daniel did not hide behind duty.
"Because sometimes my job required it. And sometimes I could have made different choices. I should have paid more attention when you got quiet."
Noah stared at him.
"Are you going to leave again?"
"Sometimes I may have to work. But things are going to change."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Noah nodded, then reached for another piece.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Rachel answered.
A woman stood on the porch holding a baby and crying.
"My name is Melissa Grant," she said. "I used to be married to Evan Blake."
May you like
She looked past Rachel at Daniel.
"You need to know what Claire did to my son."
