Chapter 6 - What Daniel Tried to Explain
Daniel requested to speak with Lena before being taken away.
Detective Brooks advised her to refuse.
Lena agreed to listen only if an officer remained beside her.
They met in a private lobby room. Daniel’s bow tie had been removed, and his expensive tuxedo was wrinkled. Without the perfect posture and carefully controlled smile, he looked smaller.
“I did research you,” he admitted. “But things changed.”
Lena said nothing.
“At first, my mother wanted me to meet you because of the shares. I won’t lie about that.”
“You already have.”
“I fell in love with you.”
“You brought legal papers to our wedding.”
“To protect us.”
“To give yourself control of my inheritance.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“My father built everything our family has. If those records become public, thousands of people will lose their jobs.”
“Your family stole from those people.”
“That was my father.”
“You were in the meetings.”
“I was young.”
“You were twenty-five.”
Daniel’s voice became sharper.
“You don’t understand how powerful my mother is. I spent my entire life doing what she demanded.”
Lena almost laughed.
For a year, Daniel had made her question every instinct. Now he wanted sympathy because someone else had controlled him.
“You had twelve years to tell the truth,” she said. “You had fourteen months after finding me. You had every day of our relationship.”
“I was trying to find a way out.”
“You could have started by not marrying me.”
Daniel looked toward the locked door.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Your mother isn’t innocent.”
Lena’s chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“She made a deal. She gave investigators evidence against my father and entered protective custody. She chose safety over coming back for you.”
Lena stood.
Daniel smiled bitterly, believing he had finally hurt her.
May you like
Then Detective Brooks entered the room holding a phone.
“We just confirmed Miriam Vale is alive,” she said. “And she has been trying to contact her daughter for eleven years.”
