Chapter 3 - The Letter That Never Reached HimDaniel read the letter again in the dim light of Hannah's hospital room.
January 14, 2020.
Six weeks after their last argument.
Four months before Lucy was born.
He remembered that winter with cruel clarity.
He had returned from a business trip to discover that Hannah's employee access had been revoked. Robert Vale, then the company's outside financial adviser, had told him she was suspected of manipulating renovation accounts.
Celeste had been there.
At the time, she worked on Robert's legal and compliance team.
She had spoken softly and offered Daniel coffee while Robert presented the accusations.
Daniel had accepted both.
"Hannah," he said, "why didn't you come to my house?"
"I did."
He looked up.
"Twice."
"I never saw you."
"The first time, your building concierge said you wouldn't receive visitors. The second time, Celeste came downstairs."
Daniel felt something cold move through him.
"What did she say?"
"That you had requested no further contact. She showed me a letter from a law office warning that if I continued approaching you, your company would seek legal remedies."
"Did it accuse you of harassment?"
"Among other things."
"Did you keep it?"
Hannah nodded toward the envelope.
"Not that copy. Ruth has the original."
Daniel looked back at the signed receipt.
"Why didn't you challenge it?"
"I did. I called the law office. They referred me to Robert. I tried your personal number. You'd changed it."
He remembered changing his number.
Celeste had suggested it.
She had called it a clean break.
"And then?" he asked.
Hannah looked away.
"And then I had to decide whether to spend what little money I had on legal fees or prenatal care."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Your mother could have called my father."
"She did."
Daniel froze.
"Warren knew?"
"I don't know what he knew. His assistant told her that the matter was closed and that she should stop calling."
The hospital monitor emitted a quiet beep.
Daniel stared at the financial authorization.
"Explain this."
Hannah inhaled.
"Oak Terrace had major water damage after a fire in November 2019. Insurance proceeds and lender-approved repair funds were placed into a restricted restoration account."
"I remember."
"Robert presented contractor invoices totaling more than a million dollars. One company was Keystone Restoration."
"A legitimate contractor?"
"That was the problem. It wasn't."
Daniel looked at her sharply.
"Robert told me you falsified those invoices."
"Because I refused to authorize them."
She pulled the hospital blanket closer.
"I compared the invoices against the work logs. Keystone billed for plumbing and structural repairs that had never happened. The address on its vendor paperwork belonged to a mail-receiving service."
"Then why didn't our auditors catch it?"
"Because the records they received were not the same records I reviewed."
Daniel frowned.
"You're saying somebody changed them."
"I'm saying the version given to the audit team removed the warnings I had entered."
The accusation was enormous.
Robert Vale had been Daniel's most trusted adviser for years.
And Celeste was Robert's daughter.
Daniel remembered signing a general authorization during the company's refinancing crisis, allowing Robert to coordinate certified payment releases with the lender.
He had not examined every invoice.
He had believed that was what advisers were for.
Suddenly, that trust looked less like confidence and more like negligence.
"How much?" he asked.
"One million two hundred and sixty thousand dollars in questionable payments."
Daniel looked at the copied approval.
The amount matched.
"$1.26 million."
Hannah nodded.
"That's what I could trace in 2019. I didn't know where it ultimately went."
"And now?"
"I know a company associated with Keystone appears in the ownership chain of the business buying Oak Terrace."
Daniel stared at her.
"South Quay Partners?"
"Yes."
He shook his head.
"That's impossible. South Quay's ownership was reviewed."
"By whom?"
Daniel opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Robert's office had arranged the due diligence.
Hannah reached for her water.
Daniel helped move the glass closer without touching her.
She noticed.
"You're being careful."
"I should have been careful seven years ago."
"Yes," she replied.
There was no comfort in her voice.
He stared at the letter.
"Lucy was born in June?"
"June seventh, 2020."
"Was she healthy?"
"Six pounds, eleven ounces. She had jaundice for a few days. Otherwise, yes."
He tried to imagine the hospital room.
Hannah holding their daughter.
No father beside them.
"Did you name her alone?"
"Ruth was with me."
"Lucy."
Hannah gave a faint smile.
"My grandmother's name."
Daniel nodded.
He had once told Hannah he loved that name.
The memory almost broke him.
"Can I be part of her life?"
Hannah's expression changed.
"That isn't a decision you get to make tonight."
"I know."
"She's six, Daniel. She has a school, friends, routines. She has people who have stayed when things were difficult."
"Jonah?"
"Jonah is Theo's father. We separated last year, but he's a good parent. He's helped me raise Lucy, too."
Daniel looked down.
A familiar jealousy rose, unreasonable and ugly.
He pushed it aside.
Jonah had done what he had not.
Stayed.
Hannah watched his face.
"Please don't turn this into a competition."
"I won't."
"Lucy doesn't need someone who wants to win. She needs someone she can depend on."
Daniel nodded.
Then the hospital room door opened.
A nurse entered carrying a clipboard.
"Ms. Reed? There's a man asking for you downstairs."
Hannah frowned.
"Who?"
"He said he's a legal representative."
Daniel stood.
"Did he give a name?"
The nurse checked her notes.
"Robert Vale."
Hannah's face drained.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Tell him she isn't receiving visitors."
The nurse hesitated.
"He's not asking to visit."
"What does he want?"
"He's requesting that Ms. Reed sign a written statement correcting what he calls a misunderstanding at today's wedding."
Hannah turned toward Daniel.
"He's already trying to rewrite it."
Daniel looked at the envelope in his hand.
"I won't let him."
Hannah held his gaze.
"You said that once before."
May you like
And Daniel realized that the most difficult thing ahead would not be proving Robert Vale was a liar.
It would be proving that Daniel Mercer could finally become someone worth believing.
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