Chapter 4 - THE CONTRACT HIDDEN BEHIND THE WEDDING
The lawyer's name was Olivia Bennett.
She was forty-two, sharp-eyed, and entirely unimpressed by the Carter family.
Daniel had hired her years earlier to help with a medical insurance dispute after the shooting.
Now she agreed to meet us in her office.
Olivia read the documents carefully.
Then she removed her glasses.
“This is worse than I expected.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
She pointed to the trust.
“The marriage requirement is only part of the issue.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Explain.”
“Your family has prepared a spousal consent agreement. It would authorize the transfer of several trust-controlled assets into a holding company.”
I frowned.
“Why would I have to sign that?”
“Because the trust gives a qualifying spouse certain acknowledgment rights.”
I stared.
“So they wanted me married to Daniel so I could sign away something that belonged to him?”
Olivia nodded.
“Potentially.”
Daniel's expression went cold.
“Who controls the holding company?”
Olivia turned another page.
“Ryan Carter.”
Silence.
I looked at Daniel.
He stared at the documents as though they belonged to someone else's family.
Then he laughed once.
A terrible sound.
“So that's why.”
Olivia continued.
“The documents also contain a clause requiring the spouse to waive future claims in exchange for a payment.”
I felt sick.
“How much?”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
I stared.
“My family received four hundred thousand.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Emma—”
I stood.
“Four hundred thousand for them. Twenty-five thousand to make me disappear afterward.”
Olivia nodded grimly.
“That appears to be the intended structure.”
I walked toward the window.
Below us, Manhattan traffic moved through the rain.
For months, I'd believed Ryan loved me.
I'd imagined our apartment.
Our children.
Our future.
He had been imagining a signature.
Daniel approached slowly.
“Emma.”
I turned.
His face was pale.
“I didn't know.”
I wanted to believe him.
But I had believed Ryan too.
“How can I be sure?”
Daniel swallowed.
“You can't.”
I stared.
He continued.
“Not yet.”
Then he placed the documents on Olivia's desk.
“Investigate everything.”
Olivia nodded.
Daniel looked at me.
“And if any part of this requires my testimony, you'll have it.”
I studied him.
For the first time, I saw the difference between the brothers.
Ryan wanted me to trust him without evidence.
Daniel was willing to give me evidence even if it destroyed him.
That afternoon, Ryan called.
I answered.
“Emma.”
His voice was warm.
Familiar.
For one dangerous second, I remembered loving him.
“Ryan.”
“Mother says you're being difficult.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you plan to take Daniel's inheritance?”
Silence.
Then Ryan laughed.
“Who told you that?”
“Answer.”
“Emma, sweetheart, you don't understand how business works.”
My blood went cold.
“Don't call me sweetheart.”
He sighed.
“You're making this unnecessarily complicated.”
I looked at the unsigned marriage papers beside me.
“No, Ryan.”
My voice steadied.
May you like
“For the first time, I'm making it complicated for you.”
Then I hung up.
