Margaret looked up immediately.
My father, who had been standing near the window, turned around.
“What assets?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Vanessa said quickly. “He said he had proof. He said once the settlement finalized, he would get more money out of you. He said last night was just a preview.”
A preview.
For months, Daniel had fought aggressively during the divorce, accusing me of hiding income, undervaluing the company, and manipulating accounts. Every claim had failed under review because my books were clean. I had thought he was only trying to scare me into paying more.
Now I understood he had been building a story.
If he could make it appear that I was still funding his lifestyle after the divorce, if he could blur the boundaries between personal and corporate accounts, if he could create confusion around card access and account permission, perhaps he thought he could reopen parts of the settlement. Or maybe he simply wanted one final feast on my name before the doors closed permanently.
Either way, he had miscalculated.
Margaret asked Vanessa to provide a written statement. To my surprise, Vanessa agreed.
By evening, Daniel’s attorney called Margaret. According to her, his tone was “less confident than usual.” He wanted to resolve the Aurum House matter privately. He wanted no police report. He wanted no filing that could affect Daniel’s professional licensing.
