Chapter 11: The Deal They Made Behind My Back
The following afternoon, Daniel arrived at our temporary apartment carrying a thick folder.
Nathan had arranged for me to stay in one of his company's residential properties while I recovered.
It was a quiet apartment overlooking the city.
There were white flowers on the dining table, a fresh pot of coffee, and a stack of medical instructions beside my medication.
For the first time in days, I could almost imagine having a normal life again.
Then Daniel placed the folder in front of me.
"Before you read this, I want you to understand that we're still verifying several details.""
I looked at him.
"What is it?""
"The $90,000 transfer to Victor Lang.""
Nathan closed his laptop.
"What did you find?""
Daniel opened the folder.
"Victor received the payment through his legal consulting company. The transaction was disguised as a property acquisition fee.""
I frowned.
"What property?""
"None. There was no purchase.""
Daniel placed a printed email on the table.
It was a conversation between Victor and my mother.
*Diane:* Have you prepared the documents?
*Victor:* Yes. We need the original birth certificate before we can finalize everything.
*Diane:* Richard says Emma won't cooperate.
*Victor:* Then we proceed without her cooperation.
*Diane:* And the husband?
*Victor:* He can be handled separately.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
"Handled separately?""
Nathan's expression hardened.
Daniel nodded.
"We found another email.""
He placed it beside the first.
This one was between Victor and my father.
*Richard:* Nathan is becoming a problem. He has too much money and too many connections.
*Victor:* I can arrange for a financial investigation.
*Richard:* I don't want an investigation. I want him out of the picture.
I looked at Nathan.
"Did you know about this?""
"No.""
Daniel continued.
"The plan appears to have involved three steps. First, obtain temporary guardianship over Emma. Second, challenge the trust's ownership structure. Third, create legal and financial pressure against Nathan.""
"Why?""
Nathan answered.
"Because they believed I would pay to make the problem disappear.""
I stared at him.
"Like the Cadillac?""
"Exactly.""
Daniel nodded.
"They expected Nathan to transfer money into a settlement account in exchange for withdrawing the guardianship petition.""
I felt sick.
My father had turned my marriage into a business opportunity.
"How much were they asking for?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Four million dollars.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
"That was the proposed settlement amount.""
Nathan leaned back.
"Interesting.""
I looked at him.
"Interesting?""
He gave a humorless smile.
"Richard thought he could extort four million dollars from me while simultaneously trying to steal your inheritance.""
Daniel opened another document.
"There's something more concerning.""
He showed us a draft settlement agreement.
It contained a clause stating that Nathan would pay four million dollars in exchange for waiving all future claims against Richard and Diane Hale.
But another clause caught my attention.
It stated that I would be required to transfer my beneficial interest in the Margaret Hale Family Trust into a newly established family holding company.
The company was called Hale Legacy Holdings.
I had never heard of it.
"Who owns that company?""
Daniel checked the registration.
"Richard Hale owns forty percent. Diane Hale owns forty percent. Victor Lang owns the remaining twenty percent.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"They wanted my inheritance inside a company they controlled.""
"Yes.""
Nathan took the document.
"That's not a settlement. That's a takeover.""
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly.""
I sat silently for a moment.
Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Did my mother know about the entire plan?""
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
He turned to another page.
"There's evidence she was involved in the financial arrangements. But we don't yet know how much she knew about the proposed pressure against Nathan.""
I looked toward the window.
My mother had once brushed my hair before school.
She had packed lunches.
She had kissed my forehead when I was sick.
How could that same woman help plan something like this?
My phone rang.
Mom.
I stared at the screen.
Nathan asked, "Do you want to answer?""
I nodded.
"Put it on speaker.""
I accepted.
"Hello?""
"Emma, sweetheart.""
Her voice was unusually gentle.
"How are you feeling?""
I looked at Nathan.
"Why are you calling?""
"I want to see you.""
"No.""
A pause.
"Please. I need to explain what happened.""
"You can explain now.""
She sighed.
"Your father has been under enormous pressure. He wasn't thinking clearly.""
"Neither were you?""
"Emma, don't do this.""
"Did you pay Victor Lang ninety thousand dollars?""
Silence.
Then she whispered, "Where did you get that information?""
"Is it true?""
She started crying.
"Your father said it was an investment.""
"An investment in what?""
"I don't know.""
I laughed bitterly.
"You transferred ninety thousand dollars to an attorney and you don't know why?""
"He told me it was necessary to protect the family.""
"From me?""
"No!""
Her voice rose.
"From losing everything!""
I closed my eyes.
"Mom, what was Project Emma?""
She stopped crying.
I could hear someone moving in the background.
Then a man's voice.
Dad.
"Give me the phone.""
Mom whispered something.
He shouted again.
"Give me the phone, Diane!""
The call disconnected.
Nathan immediately looked at Daniel.
"She wasn't alone.""
Daniel nodded.
"I suspected Richard was monitoring her communications.""
My phone vibrated again.
A text from Mom.
**Emma, I need you to meet me tomorrow. Alone. Your father doesn't know I'm contacting you.
I have something that will explain everything. Please don't tell Nathan.**
I read it twice.
Nathan looked over my shoulder.
"That's suspicious.""
"I know.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Don't meet her alone. If she has information, she can provide it through counsel.""
I considered the message.
Then another arrived.
This one contained a photograph.
An old family picture.
My mother, my father, and me standing outside a hospital.
I was a newborn.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written:
Our family. September 1997.
But the photograph was dated two weeks after my birth.
And the man holding me wasn't Richard.
It was Thomas.
I looked at Nathan.
"Why would Mom send me this?""
Daniel examined the photograph.
Then he noticed something in the corner.
A second person was standing behind Thomas.
An older man.
He was holding a document.
Daniel zoomed in.
His face changed.
"That's William Whitaker.""
Thomas's father.
The man who had allegedly paid Richard $200,000 to disappear from my life.
But the document in his hand wasn't a payment receipt.
It was a hospital discharge form.
And beside the patient's name was another name.
*Diane Hale.*
May you like
Daniel looked at me.
"Emma, I think your mother is about to tell you something even bigger than the paternity secret.""
