Chapter 3 - THE SECRET ACCOUNT
The next morning, Claire met Daniel at his office.
She placed the hotel receipt on his desk.
“I received this anonymously.”
Daniel studied it.
“Do you know the woman?”
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
“Emily Shaw. She worked for Ryan's company.”
Daniel looked up.
“Did Ryan have an affair with her?”
“I don't know.”
“But you're concerned.”
Claire nodded.
Daniel closed the folder.
“Then don't confront him yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone is feeding you information, we don't know their motive.”
Claire looked at the receipt.
“Could it be a trap?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then why send it?”
“Maybe they want Ryan exposed. Maybe they want you distracted. Maybe they want something.”
Claire nodded.
“Then we'll verify it.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“This is why I like working with accountants.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“Because we're paranoid?”
“Because you want evidence before emotion.”
He handed her another document.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Your joint savings account.”
Claire's expression changed.
“What about it?”
“Someone attempted to transfer $180,000 yesterday.”
“Who?”
“Your husband.”
Claire stared at him.
“He can't access it anymore.”
“He tried.”
“Did the bank stop him?”
“Yes.”
Claire exhaled.
Daniel leaned forward.
“Claire, this is important. From this point forward, don't discuss money with Ryan directly.”
“I won't.”
“And don't go back to the apartment alone.”
“I won't.”
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Ryan isn't behaving like someone preparing for divorce.”
Claire looked at him.
“He's behaving like someone trying to control the damage.”
---
That afternoon, Ryan received a letter.
His company's largest commercial client was terminating a contract.
Reason:
“Pending internal investigation.”
Ryan slammed the letter onto his desk.
“This is Claire.”
His attorney shook his head.
“You don't know that.”
“She is destroying my business.”
“You should stop contacting her.”
“She attacked me financially.”
His attorney stared at him.
“Ryan, your wife is the one with hospital records.”
Ryan went silent.
“Your first priority should be preventing this from becoming criminal.”
Ryan stood.
“I didn't steal anything.”
His attorney looked at him.
“Then you should have nothing to fear.”
Ryan's jaw tightened.
He hated that sentence.
Because he knew exactly what the records would show.
He had signed several of the invoices.
Not all of them.
But enough.
---
Meanwhile, Linda drove to a private storage facility.
She entered a unit using an old access code.
Inside were several boxes.
She opened one.
Passports.
Bank statements.
Corporate documents.
A second box contained jewelry.
A third contained cash.
Linda reached beneath a stack of files.
She pulled out a small black notebook.
Inside were names.
Dates.
Amounts.
And beside several names was one letter:
R.
Ryan.
She had kept records.
Not because she trusted him.
Because she didn't.
Linda knew that if things collapsed, she needed leverage.
She turned to a page dated three years earlier.
Ryan — $250,000
Another:
Ryan — $180,000
Another:
Ryan — $95,000
Then she saw something she hadn't expected.
A photocopy of a transfer from Ryan's personal account to hers.
The amount was $50,000.
Underneath, in Linda's handwriting:
Payment for keeping Claire quiet.
Linda froze.
She remembered that night.
Ryan had been terrified Claire would discover the account.
He had asked his mother to handle it.
Linda had demanded money.
Ryan had paid.
But if Claire found this page, Ryan could no longer claim he had been unaware.
Linda closed the notebook.
She heard a sound outside.
Footsteps.
She turned.
The storage unit door was still locked.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
She opened the door.
The hallway was empty.
Linda stepped outside.
At the end of the corridor stood a man.
He was holding a phone.
He looked at her.
Then walked away.
Linda's face went pale.
---
That evening, Claire received another anonymous message.
This time there was no photograph.
Only a sentence.
Linda keeps a black notebook.
Claire stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
Find it before she destroys it.
Claire immediately called Daniel.
“I think someone inside their circle is helping us.”
Daniel was quiet.
“Or manipulating you.”
“Either way, I need to know what's in that notebook.”
Daniel thought for a moment.
“Do you know where she keeps it?”
“No.”
“Then we don't go looking ourselves.”
Claire sighed.
“I know.”
“We let investigators find it legally.”
Claire nodded.
But then she remembered something.
Linda had once complained about paying for a storage unit.
Claire had dismissed it as another one of her mother's unnecessary expenses.
Now she remembered the address.
Her heart began beating faster.
“I think I know where it is.”
---
The following morning, police executed a search warrant at the storage facility.
Linda was already there.
She had arrived at 6:30 a.m.
The black notebook was gone.
So was the cash.
So were the passports.
She had moved everything.
But she had forgotten one thing.
A small envelope had fallen behind a box.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Ryan knows. Claire knows nothing.
Detective Marcus Reed read it twice.
Then he looked at his partner.
“That's not good.”
“Why?”
“Because now we know there was a conspiracy.”
---
At 8:14 a.m., Ryan received a call.
“Mr. Mercer?”
“Yes?”
“This is Detective Reed.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
“Yes?”
“We'd like to ask you some questions.”
“About what?”
“The financial records.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Then the detective added:
“And about your wife's injuries.”
Ryan's hand tightened around the phone.
“I already explained what happened.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
May you like
“We'd like to hear it again.”
---
