“Step away from my wife. You have ten seconds before I stop being family and start being the complainant.”
Part 3
Nobody moved. Daniel did.
He crossed the room in three strides and stood between me and them, not touching me until he saw I nodded. Then his hand found mine, warm and steady, and all the strength I had been pretending to have finally became real.
Eleanor lifted her chin. “Daniel, she’s manipulating you.”
Daniel did not even look at her. “Nora found the missing money before I did.”
Marcus swallowed. “Missing money?”
The detective opened a folder. “Fraudulent loan application. Identity misuse. Forged signatures. Misappropriation of charitable funds.”
Chloe’s mouth fell open. “No. No, that’s not—”
Our attorney placed another document on the table. “And this is a preservation notice. No one touches the house, accounts, vehicles, or charity records.”
My mother pointed at me, shaking with rage. “She turned you against us.”
Daniel finally looked at her.
“No,” he said. “She warned me for months. I didn’t want to believe my own family could be this rotten.”
The words hit harder than shouting.
Marcus tried to smile. “Come on, man. We can fix this privately.”
