My Wife Told Everyone I Was ‘Just a Driver’ — Then I Found Out Her Secret Too.
Chapter 8
They left the hotel before dawn.
Claire couldn’t stop crying.
“My father lied to me.”
Daniel said nothing.
“I thought he was protecting you.”
“Maybe he was protecting himself.”
She looked at him.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
He kept driving.
“I’m sorry for everything.”
He finally looked at her.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
“You made me feel like a nobody.”
“I know.”
“I thought my own wife was ashamed of me.”
“She wasn’t.”
“Then why?”
Claire took a breath.
“Because I knew your father was investigating my family.”
Daniel frowned.
“What did he discover?”
“That my father had created a network of fake companies.”
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
“Why?”
“To move money.”
Daniel looked at her.
“How much?”
“Over $300 million.”
He stared.
“And Blackwood?”
“Was the reserve fund.”
“For whom?”
Claire looked at him.
“For you.”
Daniel couldn’t understand.
“Why would my father leave money for me?”
“Because he knew he was going to die.”
They reached another safe location.
Mark had arranged it.
Then Daniel’s phone rang.
His ex-wife.
He answered.
“Where is Sophie?”
“With me.”
“Let me speak to her.”
A pause.
Then Sophie came on.
“Daddy?”
Daniel nearly broke.
“Baby.”
“I miss you.”
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know.”
Her mother came back.
“She’s safe.”
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
“You have it.”
“No.”
She continued.
“Claire doesn’t know everything.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
His ex-wife said,
“Richard Hale caused your father’s death.”
Daniel froze.
Claire’s face went white.
“No.”
“He did.”
“Why?” Daniel asked.
“Because your father refused to transfer the final asset.”
“What asset?”
“The company.”
Daniel frowned.
“Which company?”
“Harrison & Brooks.”
“The bakery?”
“No.”
She paused.
“The original company.”
Daniel’s mind raced.
His father hadn’t been a manufacturer.
He had owned a private investment group.
Daniel had never known.
His ex-wife continued.
“Your father built a system to move the company into your name after you married.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“That’s why.”
“Why what?”
“Why she married you.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“No.”
Daniel turned to her.
“Did you know?”
She shook her head.
“Not until after.”
The call ended.
Daniel stared at Claire.
“Did you marry me because of my inheritance?”
She looked devastated.
“No.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I married you because I loved you.”
“But you knew my father had money.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“I didn’t know.”
He believed her.
That was the worst part.
She had hidden things.
But perhaps she had hidden them out of fear.
Then Mark opened his laptop.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Richard is selling Hale & Mercer tomorrow.”
Daniel frowned.
“To whom?”
“An offshore company.”
Claire looked at the documents.
She recognized the buyer.
Her face changed.
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
“The buyer is controlled by Graham Pierce.”
Daniel stared.
Everything connected.
Graham.
Richard.
The fraud.
Blackwood.
His father’s death.
And now Claire.
But one question remained.
Where was Sophie?
