Chapter 5 - My Name on His Secret
The signature looked almost perfect.
Almost.
Emma Reynolds.
My married name.
The E curled the same way.
The final s dragged slightly upward.
Someone had practiced.
Danielle placed the document in front of me.
“Is that yours?”
“No.”
“You’re certain?”
“Absolutely.”
The office around us suddenly felt too warm.
“What did I supposedly sign?”
“A spousal consent form tied to the financing.”
“I never saw this.”
“I believe you.”
“Can he do that?”
“Legally?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“No.”
The word settled heavily between us.
This was no longer only about betrayal.
No longer grocery-store flowers and whispered promises to another woman.
This was paper.
Money.
My name.
Danielle leaned forward.
“From this point on, do not confront him about the signature.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want him cleaning up anything else.”
I nodded.
“What about Hailey?”
“What about her?”
“If he lied about this much, how am I supposed to trust anything?”
“Parenting and finances are separate legal issues unless evidence connects them.”
I hated that answer.
But I understood it.
Liam requested time with Hailey two days later.
Against every emotional instinct I had, I agreed to a supervised visit at his parents’ house.
Carol called me beforehand.
“I’ll be there the entire time.”
“Thank you.”
“Emma…”
She hesitated.
“I’m ashamed.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“He learned something from somewhere.”
“Carol.”
“I keep asking myself where I failed.”
I closed my eyes.
“Please don’t.”
She started crying.
“He was such a sweet little boy.”
I looked at Hailey.
“So was every difficult adult once.”
The visit lasted three hours.
Liam arrived twenty minutes late carrying an expensive stuffed bear.
Hailey was too young to care.
Carol later told me he spent most of the visit taking photographs.
Proof of fatherhood.
It irritated me.
Then I reminded myself that irritation was no longer strategy.
When he returned Hailey to me, he followed me to my car.
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
“You always say no now.”
“I spent two years saying yes.”
He flinched.
“Cute.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
He lowered his voice.
“Rachel is manipulating you.”
“Goodbye, Liam.”
“She wants revenge.”
I opened the rear car door.
“For what?”
He didn’t answer.
“For promising to marry her?”
Still nothing.
“For using her bank account?”
His face went completely still.
I knew instantly that Rachel had told the truth.
I secured Hailey’s car seat.
Liam stepped closer.
“What exactly did she give you?”
I shut the door.
“Interesting question.”
“Emma.”
“If none of it is real, why are you worried?”
His expression hardened.
“You think you’re smarter than everyone.”
“No.”
I stepped toward the driver’s door.
“I just finally stopped assuming you were telling the truth.”
He caught my wrist.
Not hard.
But enough.
I looked down at his hand.
Then back at him.
“Let go.”
He released me immediately.
Carol had seen it from the porch.
“Liam!”
“I barely touched her.”
Three words.
Barely touched her.
I stared at him.
He realized how they sounded.
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“I know exactly what you meant.”
I got into the car.
That evening, Carol sent me a message.
I’m sorry. Future visits can happen with a third-party supervisor if you prefer.
I thanked her.
At eleven thirty, Danielle emailed.
The subject line read:
We found the twenty-six thousand.
I called immediately.
“Where?”
“Northstar.”
“He transferred it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“What else?”
Danielle sighed.
“I was hoping you’d ask that tomorrow.”
“What else?”
“The company receiving payments from Northstar is called Waverly Consulting.”
“Who owns it?”
“A woman named Sophia Grant.”
My stomach tightened.
“Do we know her?”
“I think you do.”
An image arrived in my email.
Professional headshot.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
Thirty-ish.
I had never met her.
Then Danielle sent a second photograph.
Security camera still.
Liam entering the Lakeview condo.
Sophia walking beside him.
She was the woman from the phone call.
I recognized the laugh before I had ever seen her face.
Danielle said, “Emma?”
“I’m here.”
“Sophia isn’t just the woman he’s seeing.”
“What is she?”
“She works at the investment firm handling Northstar’s private accounts.”
My hands went cold.
“So she knows about the money.”
“Probably more than you do.”
“Does Rachel?”
“We asked.”
“And?”
“No.”
I waited.
Danielle continued.
“But somebody else apparently does.”
“Who?”
“The bank flagged one of the accounts this afternoon.”
“For what?”
“Someone tried to close it.”
“Liam?”
“No.”
“Then Sophia?”
“No.”
I gripped the phone.
“Danielle, who?”
“A person using your identification.”
I stared into the darkness.
Somebody had attempted to close Liam’s secret account.
May you like
Pretending to be me.
---
