Chapter 5 - The Name on the Call
Nathan Sterling never called Vanessa.
That alone was enough to make Daniel nervous.
Vanessa rejected the call.
It rang again.
She rejected it again.
Then a message appeared.
WE NEED TO TALK. NOW.
Emily saw it.
“So he knows.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Who?”
“You know.”
Nathan.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Emily, please don't involve him.”
“Why?”
“Because this has nothing to do with you.”
Margaret stared at her son.
“Your wife is holding evidence of financial transfers from your company.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Mom—”
“Don't.”
Margaret's voice was quiet.
“That isn't a family argument anymore.”
Emily opened the PDF.
She scrolled to page three.
“Your brother authorized this transfer.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
The document showed a property valued at $3.8 million.
Transferred for a fraction of its value.
The authorization carried Emily's forged signature.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Margaret saw his reaction.
“You knew.”
Daniel didn't answer.
“That means you knew.”
“I knew about some transfers.”
Emily's face tightened.
“And the affair?”
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
“That wasn't part of the plan.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I was going to leave Emily.”
Vanessa's face changed.
“You said you were already leaving.”
“I was trying to arrange it.”
“You lied to me too.”
Emily almost laughed.
That was the cruelest part.
Everyone in the room had been lying to everyone else.
Nathan had convinced Daniel to move the properties.
Daniel had convinced Vanessa he was leaving his marriage.
Daniel had convinced Emily everything was fine.
And Margaret had been kept in the dark.
But there was still one question.
Why forge Emily's signature?
Emily had never understood that.
Until her attorney called.
“Emily, I found something.”
“What?”
“The property transfer wasn't created by Daniel.”
Emily looked at him.
“Then who?”
“The filing originated from Sterling Development's legal department.”
Her stomach dropped.
“Who submitted it?”
The attorney paused.
“Nathan Sterling.”
Emily closed her eyes.
She suddenly understood.
Daniel wasn't the mastermind.
He was involved.
He was guilty.
But he wasn't alone.
Nathan had been moving properties out of the company before creditors could reach them.
The forged signatures made the transfers appear legitimate.
And Daniel's job was to make sure Emily wouldn't question them.
The affair had been convenient.
A perfect distraction.
Emily looked at Daniel.
“You used me to cover a crime.”
Daniel whispered, “I didn't know everything.”
“But you knew enough.”
He had no answer.
Margaret stepped away from him.
Her face was filled with disappointment.
“You chose this.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“I thought I was saving the family.”
“No.”
Margaret shook her head.
May you like
“You were saving yourself.”
👉 But Emily had not yet told Daniel the most important thing: she already had the original transfer document with Nathan's handwriting on it.
