Vanessa moved toward her car.
I stopped her. “My necklace.”
“It was a gift.”
“It was taken from a locked case.”
Daniel turned against her. “Give it back.”
She stared at him. “You said everything inside belonged to you.”
Her hands shook as she removed the necklace. A security officer placed it in an evidence bag.
Investigators found Daniel’s damaged laptop in the fireplace, but it was recoverable. Vanessa’s phone contained invoices, login details, and messages about moving the remaining money after the merger.
One message was especially clear:
Once Claire is gone, sell the house. She does not understand whose name matters.
Daniel read the report.
“Claire, we can fix this.”
I glanced at Lily’s broken crib in the frost.
“You threw our daughter’s bed onto the lawn.”
“I was angry.”
“You used fear to control the mother of your newborn child. That was not a mistake. It was a choice.”
