Chapter 10 - THE HUSBAND WHO LOST EVERYTHING
Michael Carter was arrested following the investigation into the mountain incident.
The case did not depend solely on my account.
Investigators had gathered additional evidence.
Vehicle-location records.
Communications.
Witness statements.
Forensic findings.
And messages between Michael and Ashley discussing financial arrangements before my disappearance.
The evidence was examined through the legal process.
Michael retained counsel.
He denied intending to kill me.
Then he claimed the fall was an accident.
Then he suggested I had misunderstood what happened during our argument.
But the records contradicted important parts of his account.
The evidence also showed that Michael had made extensive inquiries about controlling my estate following my death.
Those inquiries began long before the trip.
Ashley was interviewed separately.
At first, she supported Michael's version.
Then investigators presented communications suggesting she'd known about his financial plans and helped conceal his relationship with her.
She eventually agreed to provide a more complete account through her attorney.
The affair wasn't the most serious part.
The deception was.
The attempt to turn my death into access to fifty million dollars was.
And the fact that Michael had endangered our unborn daughter was something I could barely think about without shaking.
During one interview, my attorney asked whether I wanted to communicate with him.
I shook my head.
"No."
"That's your choice."
I looked down.
For four years, I'd been married to a man who treated my trust as something he could eventually claim.
Now I understood he'd never been planning a future with me.
He'd been planning what came after me.
I began the divorce process through counsel.
The trust assets were protected while the disputed transactions were examined.
Financial investigators reviewed the unauthorized loans and property documents.
Some transactions were challenged.
Others became part of the wider fraud investigation.
The fifty million dollars was never automatically Michael's.
His expectation of easy access had been based on a mistaken understanding of the trust and on questionable paperwork.
The scheme he'd built his future around was collapsing.
But the legal process moved slowly.
I hated that.
Every appointment reminded me how much my life had changed.
Every question forced me to revisit the mountain.
Every document carried Michael's signature.
Then, one evening, Damien called.
"How are you?"
I looked toward the window.
"Angry."
He laughed softly.
"Reasonable."
I smiled faintly.
"And tired."
"Also reasonable."
I hesitated.
"Damien?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think I'll ever stop remembering it?"
He was quiet.
Then answered honestly.
"I don't know when the memories will become less painful."
Tears filled my eyes.
He continued.
"But you don't have to face them alone. And you don't have to let them decide every part of your future."
I looked down.
For the first time, I realized I didn't need someone to promise they'd erase the past.
I needed people who would allow me to heal without demanding a schedule.
May you like
And Damien, of all people, seemed to understand that.
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