Chapter 4 - THE INHERITANCE THEY WANTED
The document was an inheritance statement.
My inheritance.
Except I had never received it.
My grandmother, Evelyn Carter, had died eight months before my wedding.
She had left me her small house in Annapolis and what I thought was a modest investment account.
I knew the estate was still being processed.
What I did not know was that the account had grown to more than four hundred thousand dollars.
And somehow, Dwight knew.
I called Christopher at 12:47 a.m.
He answered on the third ring.
“This better be important.”
“I found four hundred twelve thousand dollars.”
Silence.
“Start over.”
I emailed him everything.
At eight the next morning, we met again.
Christopher looked exhausted.
“This changes the case.”
“How?”
“Your husband may have had advance knowledge of your inheritance.”
“How would he?”
“Who handled your grandmother’s estate?”
“An attorney named Leonard Price.”
Christopher typed the name.
Then stopped.
“Do you know who Leonard’s paralegal is?”
“No.”
He turned the screen toward me.
Ashley Monroe.
My maid of honor.
I felt physically sick.
Ashley had access to my grandmother’s estate paperwork.
Ashley had known the value of the inheritance.
Ashley was sleeping with my husband.
Suddenly, every coincidence became ugly.
Ashley had introduced me to Dwight.
Ashley had encouraged me to combine finances before marriage.
Ashley had told me I was “too suspicious” when I asked Dwight why he needed access to my banking information.
Even worse, she had planned my bridal shower.
She had stood beside me while I said my vows.
My phone rang.
Dwight.
I let it go to voicemail.
Then another call.
Then another.
Finally, a text.
We need to talk before you make a mistake.
I replied:
My lawyer will contact you.
His response came instantly.
Don’t do this. My family is freaking out. Dad lost his temper. That’s all.
Then:
Come home and we’ll figure out the money.
Christopher saw the message.
“There.”
“What?”
“He just connected himself to the money.”
My phone buzzed again.
This time from Ashley.
Liz, I heard what happened. Are you okay?
I stared at the screen.
The nerve of her made my hands shake.
I typed:
Come see me. Alone.
Christopher frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to know how much she thinks I know.”
“Don’t accuse her.”
“I won’t.”
Ashley arrived at Amy’s apartment that evening dressed like the concerned best friend she had pretended to be for years.
She hugged me.
I let her.
Then she saw my face.
“Oh my God.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Dwight let this happen?”
Interesting choice of words.
Not Jared did this?
Dwight let this happen.
I sat across from her.
“Ashley, did Dwight ever tell you why he married me?”
Her face went still for half a second.
Then she smiled.
“Because he loves you.”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
Then I placed the inheritance document on the table.
All the color left her face.
May you like
And before she could recover, I asked one question.
“How long have you been stealing information from my grandmother’s estate?”
