Chapter 2 - THE MAN IN THE DARK SUIT
I called Agent Marcus Reed at 12:03 in the morning.
He answered on the second ring.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Maya Vance.”
Silence.
Then his voice changed.
“David Vance's wife?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get this number?”
“From a flash drive in my husband's safe.”
Another silence.
Longer this time.
“Mrs. Vance, do not touch anything else in that safe.”
I almost laughed.
“My daughter died yesterday.”
He went quiet.
“My husband ignored my calls because he's on a yacht with another woman.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don't need sorry.”
My voice sounded strange even to me.
“I need you to tell me why your number was hidden on a drive in my husband's office.”
Reed took a breath.
Then he said five words that changed everything.
“David is under federal investigation.”
I sat down hard.
“For what?”
“We shouldn't do this over the phone.”
“Then come here.”
He arrived forty-seven minutes later.
Marcus Reed was in his early fifties.
Tall.
Gray at the temples.
Calm eyes.
He stepped into my kitchen, saw Lily's backpack hanging by the door, and stopped.
A glittery purple keychain hung from the zipper.
He looked at it for a second.
Then at me.
“How old was she?”
“Seven.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I have a daughter who’s nine.”
That was the first time his government face cracked.
Only for a second.
Then he placed a leather folder on the kitchen table.
“Mrs. Vance, your husband is suspected of participating in a financial fraud network involving shell companies, offshore accounts, and fraudulent transfers.”
I stared at him.
“David owns a logistics company.”
“He owns eleven companies.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
He opened the folder.
There were names I didn't recognize.
Companies in Delaware.
The Cayman Islands.
Panama.
Singapore.
Then I saw my own name.
My stomach turned.
“What is that?”
“A holding company.”
“I don't own a holding company.”
“According to these records, you do.”
I looked up sharply.
“He used my name?”
“We believe so.”
“Without my knowledge?”
“That is one reason we're here.”
I stood so fast the chair scraped backward.
“That son of a bitch.”
Reed didn't react.
“Your signature appears on several documents.”
“I never signed these.”
“We suspected that.”
“Then arrest him.”
“We can't yet.”
“Why?”
“Because suspicion isn't enough.”
I looked toward the hallway.
Lily's bedroom was at the end.
The door was still half-open.
Her night-light still glowing.
“What do you need?”
“Evidence tying him directly to the transfers.”
I thought about the safe.
“The flash drive?”
“Possibly.”
“Then take it.”
He studied me.
“Mrs. Vance, if you cooperate, this could become dangerous.”
“My daughter died asking if her father was coming.”
His face tightened.
“I don't scare easily anymore.”
Over the next three hours, federal technicians copied the drive.
What they found made even Reed swear under his breath.
David hadn't just hidden money.
He had forged my name.
Forged corporate minutes.
Moved funds through companies connected to government contracts.
One file contained private account codes.
Another contained payment schedules.
Then Reed opened a folder titled:
FAMILY CONTINGENCY.
Inside was a document dated six months earlier.
A life insurance policy.
On me.
Ten million dollars.
Beneficiary:
David Vance.
I felt cold all over.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
Reed scrolled down.
There was another policy.
Lily Vance.
Five million dollars.
Beneficiary:
David Vance.
I stopped breathing.
“No.”
Reed turned the screen toward himself.
His face changed.
“What?”
“There's something else.”
He clicked a PDF.
It was an email.
From David.
To Julianne.
Sent three weeks before Lily got sick.
Once the family situation is resolved, we can finally start our real life.
My hands began to shake.
I wanted to believe it meant divorce.
I desperately wanted to believe it meant divorce.
Then Reed opened Julianne's reply.
And if Maya refuses?
David had answered:
Then we use Plan B.
Reed slowly closed the laptop.
“Maya.”
I looked at him.
“What is Plan B?”
He didn't answer.
May you like
Because neither of us knew.
Not yet.
