Chapter 5
Claire asked to meet in the lobby.
I almost said no.
After everything that had happened, the last thing I wanted was another secret.
But the photograph sat on the table beside me.
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Claire.
Something had happened between them.
And whatever it was had frightened Vanessa enough for someone to contact me anonymously.
I went downstairs with Rachel.
Claire was waiting near the windows.
She was around thirty-five, with dark hair pulled into a low ponytail and a tired expression.
When she saw us, she stood.
“Emily?”
“Yes.”
She looked at my shoulder.
“I heard about the pool.”
“Apparently everyone has.”
“I’m sorry.”
We sat.
I placed the photograph on the table.
“Did you send this?”
“No.”
That surprised me.
“Then who did?”
“I think Daniel’s sister.”
“Daniel has a sister?”
“Rebecca.”
I remembered her vaguely.
She lived in Seattle and hadn’t been able to attend the wedding because of a work emergency.
Claire folded her hands.
“I worked for Daniel’s company.”
That immediately made me uneasy.
“What does Vanessa have to do with that?”
“A lot.”
Claire explained that she had been Daniel’s executive assistant for almost four years.
Eight months earlier, she discovered irregular reimbursements linked to a company charity account.
Small transfers.
Vendor payments.
Event expenses.
At first, she assumed they were accounting errors.
Then she noticed one name appearing repeatedly.
Vanessa.
My stomach tightened.
“Vanessa never worked for Daniel.”
“No.”
Claire nodded.
“But she volunteered with the foundation.”
I remembered that.
Vanessa had bragged about helping organize charity events.
Claire continued.
“She submitted expenses through outside vendors.”
“For what?”
“Decorations. Catering deposits. Consulting.”
“How much?”
Claire hesitated.
“Almost forty-three thousand dollars.”
Rachel whispered, “Jesus.”
I stared at Claire.
“You’re saying my sister stole money?”
“I’m saying payments connected to her activities couldn’t be verified.”
That distinction mattered.
Claire was careful.
Professional.
“I brought the issue to Daniel.”
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t believe Vanessa had done anything intentionally.”
Of course.
“He asked her about it. She said vendors had made bookkeeping mistakes.”
Claire looked toward the photograph.
“That dinner was when the three of us discussed it.”
“Why were you crying?”
“Because Vanessa accused me of stealing the money.”
My stomach dropped.
Claire’s voice remained controlled.
“She said I had manipulated invoices and was trying to blame her.”
“What happened?”
“I was suspended while the company investigated.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“And?”
“Three weeks later, I was cleared.”
“Was Vanessa investigated?”
Claire gave a bitter smile.
“Not properly.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel wanted to believe her.”
The words weren’t cruel.
Just factual.
“He reimbursed the missing funds personally and told the board it had been an accounting failure.”
I looked away.
That explained part of Daniel’s guilt.
The warning signs he said he had ignored.
“What happened to you?”
“I resigned.”
“I’m sorry.”
Claire nodded.
“So am I.”
Then she slid a folder across the table.
Inside were copies of invoices.
Receipts.
Emails.
Several documents had Vanessa’s name.
One receipt caught my attention.
A luxury bridal boutique.
$8,200.
I stared at it.
“That’s her wedding dress.”
Claire nodded.
“The charge was routed through a vendor claiming it purchased fabric installations for a charity gala.”
I felt physically ill.
Vanessa had bragged about paying for her own gown.
She had actually paid for it with charity funds.
“Why tell me now?”
“I wasn’t going to.”
Claire looked down.
“Then I saw her post accusing you of manipulating Daniel.”
Her expression hardened.
“I know what it feels like when Vanessa decides someone else needs to carry the blame.”
That sentence stayed with me.
I looked through more papers.
Spa visits.
Designer accessories.
A deposit for the Maui resort.
My hand stopped.
“The honeymoon.”
“Yes.”
Part of it appeared to have been paid through another false event invoice.
Rachel leaned back.
“Oh my God.”
I suddenly understood why someone had wanted Daniel to cancel it.
The trip wasn’t just romantic.
It was evidence.
“Does Daniel know?”
“Not all of it.”
“Why not?”
“I sent the records to Rebecca yesterday.”
Daniel’s sister.
“She was going to talk to him after the wedding because she didn’t want to explode his life without checking everything.”
I almost laughed at the timing.
“His life exploded anyway.”
Claire nodded.
Then my phone buzzed.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Emily, are you with someone named Claire?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
He exhaled.
“My sister just called me.”
His voice sounded strained.
“She told me what she found.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Silence.
Then he said, “There’s something else.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“The security team reviewed old access logs from the charity office.”
I waited.
“Vanessa used my badge.”
“What do you mean?”
“She took it from my apartment and accessed the office after hours three times.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Daniel continued.
“They have video.”
I stared out through the lobby windows.
The ocean glittered beneath the afternoon sun.
Everything outside looked peaceful.
Inside, another piece of my sister’s life was collapsing.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“I’m meeting with the board tonight.”
“And Vanessa?”
“I tried calling her.”
“Did she answer?”
“No.”
Claire leaned closer.
“Emily.”
Her face had changed.
“What?”
She was looking over my shoulder.
I turned.
Vanessa stood across the lobby.
She had returned.
Her hair was disheveled.
Her sunglasses covered half her face.
And when she saw Claire sitting beside me, she stopped walking.
For one second, none of us moved.
Then Vanessa ripped off her sunglasses.
“You.”
Claire stood.
I did too.
Vanessa rushed toward us.
“You couldn’t leave it alone?”
Daniel’s voice was still coming through my phone.
“Emily? What’s happening?”
Vanessa reached the table.
Her eyes landed on the folder.
Her face drained of color.
“Where did you get that?”
Claire didn’t flinch.
“You know exactly where.”
Vanessa grabbed for the papers.
Rachel pulled them away.
“Don’t.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
I stared back at her.
“No, Vanessa.”
I thought of the pool.
The lies.
The stolen money.
The way she blamed everyone except herself.
“For the first time, I think I do.”
Her expression changed.
Fear replaced anger.
Then she whispered,
“If those papers reach the police, Mom loses everything too.”
I froze.
“What did you just say?”
Vanessa looked toward the doors.
Too late.
I caught her wrist with my left hand.
“What does Mom have to do with this?”
May you like
She stared at me.
And I knew from her silence that the answer was going to hurt worse than anything I had discovered yet.
