“Marry Me and I’ll Help Raise Your Daughters” — Billionaire to Single Dad, His Daughter Said…
Chapter 8
Our wedding was now only ten days away.
Everything had changed.
It was no longer a simple arrangement.
There was a criminal investigation.
A family conspiracy.
A dead woman.
A hidden trust.
And evidence that could bring down one of the largest companies in the city.
Victoria wanted to cancel the wedding.
I refused.
“Why?”
“Because Richard expects us to panic.”
“He may come after you.”
“He already has.”
She stared at me.
“I don’t want you in danger.”
“You aren’t the only person who can protect people.”
She smiled faintly.
“That’s annoyingly heroic.”
“I’m a father.”
“That explains it.”
We created a plan.
The financial evidence would go to federal investigators after the wedding.
The trust would remain in place.
Victoria would retain control.
Richard would be exposed.
But there was a missing piece.
The original corporate authorization.
Without it, Richard could claim the transactions were legitimate.
We found the answer in Rachel’s notes.
She had written:
The original authorization is with the person who signed the first trust.
Jonathan.
But he was dead.
Then we remembered Margaret.
She had been his co-signatory.
We asked her.
She shook her head.
“I gave it away.”
“To whom?”
She looked at me.
“Rachel.”
My heart stopped.
“Then where is it?”
Margaret smiled sadly.
“She knew she wouldn’t survive.”
“She sent it to someone.”
“Who?”
“An eleven-year-old girl.”
I stared.
Emma.
“What?”
“Rachel knew that children are ignored.”
Margaret explained.
Rachel had hidden the authorization inside an art project Emma made in school.
I remembered it.
A cardboard model of our family house.
Emma had made it the month before Rachel died.
It was still in our storage closet.
We rushed home.
We opened the model.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
My hands shook.
The original authorization.
Signed by Jonathan and Margaret.
It gave Victoria control over the foundation.
And it documented the original purpose of the trust.
The land.
The children’s programs.
The charities.
Nothing could be privatized without family approval.
Richard had no authority.
He had built his entire plan on a lie.
We sent copies to the investigators.
The following day, federal agents searched Richard’s office.
They found hidden accounts.
Private messages.
Payments.
And evidence connecting him to Rachel’s death.
But Richard escaped before he could be arrested.
He disappeared.
That night, Victoria sat on the floor of our living room with the girls.
Emma was showing her a school project.
Sophie was braiding her hair.
Victoria didn’t complain once.
I watched from the kitchen.
For the first time, I didn’t see a billionaire.
I saw someone who had finally found the family she had always wanted.
She looked up.
“You’re staring.”
“I’m thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
Emma laughed.
Victoria smiled.
Then Sophie asked,
“When are you moving in?”
Victoria blinked.
“After the wedding.”
Sophie frowned.
“Why not now?”
I laughed.
Victoria looked at me.
“Should we tell her?”
“Probably.”
Victoria leaned toward Sophie.
“Actually…”
Sophie interrupted.
“Mom?”
The room went silent.
Victoria froze.
Sophie looked embarrassed.
“Sorry.”
“No.”
Victoria’s voice trembled.
“Don’t be sorry.”
Sophie hugged her.
“I like you.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Thank you.”
Emma smiled.
I looked away because my eyes were burning.
Later, Victoria came to me.
“I thought I was helping raise your daughters.”
She touched my hand.
“I didn’t realize they were going to raise me too.”
I laughed.
“That sounds about right.”
She kissed me.
It was soft.
Real.
And no longer part of an agreement.
