Chapter 4 - WHAT DANIEL SAID BEFORE NOAH WAS BORN
Emily met us that afternoon.
She was twenty-nine, nervous, and looked like she had not slept in days.
We sat in a conference room inside Rebecca’s office.
Emily kept twisting a tissue between her fingers.
“I should have come forward sooner.”
Rebecca leaned back.
“Start from the beginning.”
Emily nodded.
“I was Daniel’s executive assistant for almost four years.”
I knew that.
Daniel had told me she quit because she was “unstable.”
I suddenly wondered how many women had been called unstable because they knew too much.
Emily continued.
“At first, he was normal.”
She gave a bitter laugh.
“Actually, no. He was charming.”
That sounded more accurate.
“He used to talk about how lucky he was to marry you.”
I said nothing.
“Then your company started growing faster.”
“He didn’t like that?”
“He hated it.”
I stared at her.
Emily looked embarrassed for him.
“He told people it made him look weak.”
“Because his wife was successful?”
“Yes.”
Of course.
Daniel could tolerate my success only as long as he got credit for it.
Emily continued.
“When you were pregnant, he became obsessed with making sure your assets were connected to him.”
Rebecca asked, “How?”
“He wanted joint titles.”
“He got some,” I said.
Emily shook her head.
“Not enough.”
She looked at me.
“He wanted control.”
Something cold moved through my chest.
“What did he say about Noah?”
Emily swallowed.
“One night, he was drunk.”
I waited.
“He said, ‘Once the baby comes, she’ll never leave. Mothers are easy. You don’t control them with money. You control them with fear.’”
My skin went cold.
“What fear?”
Emily’s eyes filled.
“He said custody.”
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Exact words?”
Emily nodded.
“He said, ‘If Claire ever turns on me, I’ll make sure she knows leaving means losing her kid.’”
My hands clenched.
Noah.
This had always been the plan.
Maybe not the allergy.
Maybe not Margaret’s cruelty.
But control.
Daniel had looked at the birth of our son and seen leverage.
Emily pulled a flash drive from her bag.
“I copied some files before I quit.”
Rebecca took it.
“What’s on here?”
“Emails. Transfers. Voice recordings.”
Daniel had a habit of leaving voice memos for Emily when he was drunk or angry.
She had saved them because she became afraid he would blame her for things.
Rebecca inserted the drive.
One recording began.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“If Claire asks, tell her the payment went to vendor stabilization.”
Emily’s recorded voice replied, “But it didn’t.”
Then Daniel.
“I don’t pay you to understand.”
Another file.
“My mother needs the money. Move it.”
Another.
“Claire signs whatever I put in front of her.”
I felt sick.
Then came the worst one.
Daniel laughing with Richard.
“I built the perfect setup. Claire makes the money, I manage the image.”
Richard laughed.
“And if she gets smart?”
Daniel answered without hesitation.
“She won’t leave Noah.”
I closed my eyes.
Rebecca stopped the recording.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Emily whispered, “There’s one more thing.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Margaret knew about the allergy.”
I almost laughed.
“We already know that.”
“No.”
Emily shook her head.
“I mean she researched it.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“Last month, Daniel asked me to recover an old password to his mother’s family account.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at me.
“But while I was doing it, I saw her browser history synced to the family cloud.”
Rebecca’s expression sharpened.
“What searches?”
Emily reached into her bag.
She handed us printed pages.
I read the first line.
HOW MUCH PEANUT EXPOSURE CAUSES ANAPHYLAXIS IN TODDLERS?
My vision blurred.
The next search:
CAN A CHILD OUTGROW SEVERE PEANUT ALLERGY?
Then:
WHAT HAPPENS IF EPIPEN IS USED WHEN NOT NEEDED?
Rebecca slowly stood.
“This wasn’t ignorance.”
“No,” I said.
My voice sounded dead.
“This was deliberate.”
May you like
Then Emily pointed to the date.
The searches had been made three days before the reunion.
