Chapter 7 - Turning the Tables
The restaurant was buzzing with the low chatter of wealthy patrons and the clinking of wine glasses. I sat at a corner table, dressed in a simple black dress—a stark contrast to the white wedding gown I had worn the last time I saw Daniel.
Under my collar, a tiny, high-definition microphone was pinned, feeding audio directly to a receiver held by a private investigator sitting two tables away.
At exactly 8:00 PM, Daniel walked in. He looked tired, his usual pristine appearance slightly frayed around the edges. When he saw me, a look of relief crossed his face, quickly replaced by his signature mask of calm control.
He sat down opposite me, crossing his arms. "Rachel. You look well, considering the circumstances."
"Cut the act, Daniel," I said, keeping my voice low and steady. "I know about the bankruptcy. I know about your company’s debts. And I know about Lily's trust fund."
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "You think you're very clever, don't you? Yes, my family is going through a temporary liquidity issue. But that has nothing to do with us. We were going to be a family."
"By locking my daughter in a room? By planning to 'remove' her permanently?" I produced a photocopy of Victoria’s note and slid it across the table. "This is your mother's handwriting, Daniel. She wrote down your plan. You wanted the joint guardianship so you could access her two million dollars, and then you were going to discard her."
Daniel stared at the photocopy. For a moment, I thought he might deny it, but then a cold, mocking smile spread across his face.
"My mother is a pragmatic woman, Rachel," he whispered. "A child from a previous marriage is a complication. She would have been a constant reminder of your past. We were offering her a prestigious boarding school in Switzerland. It's not 'discarding' her; it's giving her a world-class education. And in exchange, yes, we would have managed her trust. We would have invested it wisely, saved my family's legacy, and secured our future. It was a win-win."
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"A win-win?" I felt a chill run down my spine at his utter lack of empathy. "You wanted to steal from an orphaned seven-year-old girl."
"She doesn't need two million dollars right now," Daniel hissed, his composure finally cracking. "I do. If you sign the guardianship papers, we can still go through with this. We can tell the court it was all a misunderstanding. You get a wealthy lifestyle, and Lily gets a safe, comfortable life abroad. If you don't... I will ruin you, Rachel. I will use my family's influence to paint you as an unfit mother. I will take Lily away from you legally, and you will never see her again."
