Chapter 11 - THE MAN I MET EVERY THURSDAY
Daniel thought he had caught me having an affair.
I almost laughed.
Rachel looked at me calmly.
“Jennifer?”
I opened my bag.
Every Thursday morning for three months, I had met a man named Marcus Reed.
Not a lover.
A forensic accountant.
I placed his reports on the table.
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
Rachel said,
“Mr. Reed was retained to review marital assets.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“You hired someone to investigate me?”
“Yes.”
“Behind my back?”
I stared at him.
“You’re upset about secrecy?”
His lawyer rubbed his forehead.
Rachel opened the first report.
“Mr. Reed found multiple transfers from joint marital accounts into a business account controlled solely by Mr. Carter.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“That’s my company.”
“Partly.”
“It’s my income.”
Rachel shook her head.
“Not exactly.”
She turned to another page.
“Seventy-three thousand dollars transferred over fourteen months.”
I stopped breathing.
Even I had not seen the final number yet.
Daniel looked at me.
I saw panic.
Real panic.
Rachel continued.
“Some money went to Ms. Bennett.”
“Some?”
I asked.
She nodded.
“The rest went somewhere else.”
Daniel snapped,
“This has nothing to do with the divorce.”
“It has everything to do with the divorce.”
Rachel pushed a page toward him.
“Where is this account?”
Daniel didn’t look.
His lawyer did.
“Cayman Islands?”
I stared at Daniel.
“You had an offshore account?”
He stood.
“This meeting is over.”
Gaines grabbed his sleeve.
“Sit down.”
Daniel pulled away.
“I said it’s over.”
Rachel remained calm.
“If you leave, we file an emergency motion this afternoon.”
“For what?”
“To freeze marital assets.”
Daniel turned toward me.
“You’re trying to destroy my business.”
“No.”
I felt surprisingly calm.
“I’m trying to find my money.”
His jaw tightened.
Then he said something that revealed more than he intended.
“You’ll never find all of it.”
The room went silent.
Gaines closed his eyes.
Daniel realized what he had said.
Too late.
Rachel smiled slightly.
“Thank you.”
Daniel stormed out.
His lawyer stayed.
That told me everything.
Two hours later, Rachel filed for emergency financial restraints.
The court temporarily blocked Daniel from moving major marital assets.
By Friday, his business partners knew.
By Monday, one had demanded an audit.
By Wednesday, Daniel was no longer worried about the divorce.
He was worried about prison.
Because Marcus discovered something worse than hidden marital money.
Daniel had been moving company money too.
I wanted no part of that.
But it had my name on one account.
A joint investment account I had never opened.
Rachel called me late that night.
“Jennifer, listen carefully.”
“What?”
“The account Marcus found is under both your names.”
My stomach dropped.
“I’ve never seen it.”
“I believe you.”
“What was it used for?”
Silence.
Then Rachel said,
“That’s the problem.”
“What?”
“It received money from Daniel’s company right before he transferred it offshore.”
I felt cold.
“He put my name on it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
May you like
Rachel’s answer came slowly.
“Because if anyone investigated him, it would look like you were involved too.”
