Chapter 3 - THE DOCTOR WHO NEVER MET HER
Claire didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Lily.
They stayed at Rachel's house while police photographed Claire's home.
At 2:13 a.m., Claire received a text.
Daniel.
PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN.
She didn't respond.
Another came.
YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU FOUND.
Then another.
I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU.
Claire stared at the words.
Rachel sat beside her.
“Block him.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because frightened people talk.”
Rachel understood.
Claire typed one sentence.
FROM WHAT?
Daniel responded almost immediately.
YOURSELF.
Claire's hands went cold.
Another message arrived.
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WELL SINCE MICHAEL DIED.
Claire stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
Michael.
Her late husband.
Lily's father.
Daniel had always been careful when mentioning him.
Respectful.
Almost too respectful.
Now he was using Michael's death against her.
She typed.
WHO IS THE DOCTOR?
No response.
She waited.
Nothing.
Then Lily appeared in the doorway.
“Mom?”
Claire put down the phone.
“Why are you awake?”
“I remembered something.”
Claire went to her.
“What?”
“The doctor has gray hair.”
Claire stared.
“You saw him?”
Lily nodded.
“At our house.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
Claire's mind raced.
She remembered that day.
Daniel had told her an insurance adviser was coming.
Claire had been at work.
“What did they do?”
“They went into your office.”
“Who?”
“Daniel, his mom, and the gray-haired man.”
“What did they talk about?”
“I couldn't hear everything.”
“Anything helps.”
Lily swallowed.
“The man said you had to show signs first.”
Claire's skin prickled.
“What signs?”
“He said people wouldn't believe it if you looked normal.”
Rachel whispered, “Jesus.”
Lily continued.
“Then Daniel said he could handle that.”
Claire sat down.
A memory surfaced.
The headaches.
They had started six weeks earlier.
Then dizziness.
Then moments when she felt strangely confused after dinner.
Daniel had insisted she was exhausted.
He had started making her tea every night.
Claire looked at Rachel.
“The tea.”
“What?”
“Daniel made me tea.”
Rachel's expression changed.
“How often?”
“Almost every night.”
Claire stood.
“We're going back to the house.”
“Claire—”
“The tea is still there.”
Police met them at the property.
The tea container was taken as evidence.
So were several vitamin bottles Daniel had bought for Claire.
By morning, Claire had another problem.
Her bank called.
Someone had attempted to initiate a transfer from her savings account.
$380,000.
The request had been submitted three days earlier.
Scheduled for the morning after the wedding.
Beneficiary?
A holding company Claire had never heard of.
The registered manager was Margaret Vale.
Daniel's mother.
Claire sat silently while the fraud investigator explained.
Then she asked one question.
“What happens now?”
“We freeze everything.”
“Do it.”
“All linked accounts?”
“All of them.”
“What about the trust?”
Claire looked at Lily.
“Especially the trust.”
After the call, Claire contacted the attorney who had managed Michael's estate.
Thomas Reed.
When she explained what had happened, he went silent.
Then he said, “Claire, there's something you need to know.”
“What?”
“Daniel contacted my office six months ago.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“About what?”
“He claimed you wanted to amend Michael's trust.”
“I never told him that.”
“I know.”
“What did he want changed?”
Thomas hesitated.
“He wanted Lily removed as the protected beneficiary.”
Claire looked across the room at her daughter.
“And who would replace her?”
Thomas answered quietly.
“Your future spouse.”
Claire nearly dropped the phone.
May you like
Then Thomas said something worse.
“He also asked what would happen to the trust if you died.”
