Chapter 17 - What Claire Knew About Daniel
Samuel Reed had done what Ryan refused to do.
He investigated Daniel.
The report was twelve pages.
Ryan read it alone.
Daniel’s gambling losses were substantial.
Sports betting.
Private card clubs.
Speculative investments.
Nothing criminal by itself.
But the timeline matched the first missing company funds.
Daniel lost heavily.
Then a Carrington vendor received an inflated payment.
Then Daniel’s personal debt decreased.
Samuel also documented repeated meetings between Daniel and Marissa Pierce.
Monica.
The report did not establish romance.
It established partnership.
They had shared hotel rooms during business trips.
Jointly attended private dinners.
Transferred money between entities.
Ryan felt a fresh betrayal.
Had Monica and Daniel been lovers?
He hated himself for caring.
The marriage was already fraudulent enough.
Lydia read the relevant section.
“Possibly romantic. Possibly business.”
“I married her.”
“I know.”
“My best friend stood beside me.”
“I know.”
Ryan laughed without humor.
“I sound ridiculous.”
“You sound hurt.”
He closed the report.
“I don't want to know every detail.”
That realization surprised him.
Weeks earlier he would have demanded every answer.
Now he understood some knowledge served only pain.
What mattered was the conspiracy.
Not whether Monica kissed Daniel in a hotel six years earlier.
Samuel Reed’s final page contained something more useful.
A list of three safety-deposit facilities Daniel had visited.
One was the storage unit already searched.
One no longer existed.
The third was a private document vault used by businesses.
Investigators obtained records.
Daniel had maintained a box there under a corporate alias.
A warrant followed.
Inside were duplicate ledgers.
Not Claire’s.
Daniel’s.
He had tracked every diverted payment.
Amounts.
Recipients.
Kickbacks.
Repayments.
The documents showed Monica received $1.8 million over six years.
Daniel diverted more than $11 million.
Several smaller participants received fees.
The scheme was provable.
Marcus looked almost relieved.
“This is unusually good evidence.”
Ryan shook his head.
“He kept records of his own theft.”
“People do. Especially when multiple people owe each other money.”
The ledger also identified the Miami condo.
Monica had purchased it using proceeds from the scheme before meeting Ryan.
That confirmed her financial independence from him.
She had never needed Ryan’s money personally.
What she wanted was access.
Then, later, status.
Control.
Replacement.
The ledger included a notation beside Monica’s name dated shortly after her marriage.
M wants out after W. M says no more vendor work.
Ryan pointed.
“She tried to quit.”
Marcus nodded.
“Possibly.”
Another notation six months later:
M back in. Needs Whitmore docs.
“What changed?”
No one knew.
Until prosecutors asked Monica.
Her answer arrived through her cooperation statement.
She claimed Daniel threatened to expose how she had entered Ryan’s life.
If Ryan learned the truth, her marriage would end.
So she returned to helping Daniel.
Ryan sat in silence after hearing that.
Monica had trapped herself with the original lie.
Every month she stayed required another lie.
Another signature.
Another excuse.
Another cruelty toward anything connected to Claire.
He could understand the mechanism without forgiving it.
That distinction mattered.
The criminal case against Monica moved forward separately.
Her cooperation did not erase the pool incident.
A prosecutor told Ryan a plea agreement was possible.
Likely charges would include child endangerment-related offenses, forgery conspiracy, and financial crimes.
Ryan asked the only question he cared about.
“Will she have contact with Grace?”
“Not unless a court allows it. We would support continued no contact.”
Ryan nodded.
Grace would not be used as a bargaining chip.
That evening they returned to the mansion.
The pool had been refilled.
Grace stopped when she saw it.
Ryan noticed her hand tighten around Rosa’s.
“Do we have to go outside?”
“No.”
They stayed inside.
The next day, Grace asked if the photograph was still damaged.
Ryan showed her.
A restoration specialist had cleaned and flattened it.
Water marks remained.
The colors were slightly faded.
Grace touched the image through protective glass.
“It's not the same.”
“No.”
“Can we get a new one?”
“We have copies.”
She shook her head.
“I want this one.”
Ryan understood.
The damage had become part of its history.
Like them.
That night he hung the restored photograph in Grace’s bedroom.
Not hidden in a drawer.
Not stored away.
Visible.
Grace fell asleep beneath it.
Ryan stood at the doorway.
Rosa joined him.
“She looks peaceful.”
“Yes.”
Rosa smiled faintly.
“Mrs. Claire would like that.”
Ryan looked at her.
“I failed Claire.”
Rosa shook her head.
“You failed to listen.”
He waited.
“That is not the same as failing forever.”
Ryan looked back at Grace.
For the first time, he believed repair might be possible.
Then his phone rang.
It was the prosecutor.
May you like
Daniel wanted to negotiate.
And his first condition was that Ryan personally attend the meeting.
