Chapter 4
I had never hated Dalton.
Not even during the divorce.
I hated what happened.
I hated the lying.
The coldness.
The way he began staying at work until midnight and coming home smelling like perfume he claimed belonged to clients at networking events.
But I did not hate him.
He was Caspian’s father.
I had worked hard to keep my anger separate from our son.
That ended when Seraphine threatened his scholarship.
Evelyn listened to the voicemail twice.
“This is useful.”
I stared at her through Naomi’s laptop screen.
“Useful?”
“It sounds like intimidation.”
“She threatened my child.”
“Your adult child,” Evelyn said gently.
“Still my child.”
Caspian touched my arm.
“I’m okay.”
“No, you aren’t.”
I stood and paced.
“You worked for that scholarship.”
“Yes.”
“You earned every grade.”
“I know.”
“Dalton doesn’t get to own it because his firm sponsors the program.”
Evelyn nodded.
“And legally, sponsorship may not give him authority to revoke it arbitrarily.”
“May?”
I hated legal words.
Maybe.
Possibly.
Potentially.
I wanted certainty.
Evelyn continued.
“I’m contacting the university independently.”
Caspian swallowed.
“Will that make things worse?”
“The worst thing would be allowing a threat to control you.”
He nodded.
But I saw fear.
That hurt more than my missing money.
I sat beside him.
“If anything happens to that scholarship, I’ll figure it out.”
“Mum.”
“I mean it.”
“You cannot work more hours.”
“Watch me.”
He laughed despite himself.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Naomi interrupted.
“Nobody is working ninety hours a week. We’ll fight this properly.”
Evelyn requested every trust document we had.
Then she asked about Martin Shaw.
“My divorce attorney.”
“Have you spoken to him since?”
“Not in years.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“If he participated in concealing assets, we don’t alert him until evidence is preserved.”
My skin prickled.
This was no longer just family betrayal.
It was strategy.
Evidence.
Potential fraud.
I suddenly understood why Dalton wanted things handled privately.
My phone buzzed again.
This time it was a photograph.
Seraphine and Dalton at Caspian’s graduation.
Smiling in the stolen front-row seats.
Underneath, Seraphine wrote:
You looked lovely from the back.
Naomi saw it.
“Oh, I am going to prison.”
Caspian almost smiled.
I didn’t.
I showed Evelyn.
“Save it.”
“Does that matter legally?”
“Maybe not.”
She paused.
“But it tells me what kind of person believes she has nothing to fear.”
That sentence stayed with me.
The next morning, Evelyn met us in person.
She was in her early fifties, silver streak through dark hair, no-nonsense voice.
She brought another attorney specializing in trusts.
His name was Marcus Bell.
He had reviewed Dad’s estate.
“The trust was valid,” he said.
I gripped my coffee.
“So my father really left it?”
“Yes.”
“How did I miss this?”
“Your husband was appointed co-trustee temporarily because your father was concerned about his health deteriorating before final paperwork could be completed.”
“Co-trustee with who?”
Marcus looked at me.
“You.”
I stared.
“I never knew.”
“The signature accepting your role appears forged.”
A chill went through me.
“So Dalton made himself effectively sole trustee.”
“Yes.”
“Could he legally move the money?”
“Not for personal benefit.”
“Could he send it to Seraphine?”
“Not unless it served your benefit.”
Naomi snorted.
“I’m sure the mistress’s condo was deeply beneficial.”
Marcus almost smiled.
Then he became serious.
“There’s more.”
I braced myself.
“Your father amended the trust shortly before his death.”
“What amendment?”
“If Dalton and you divorced due to marital misconduct by him, Dalton was to be removed from any administrative role immediately.”
My mouth went dry.
“He knew.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
I remembered Dad looking at Dalton strangely in the hospital.
I thought it was illness.
Maybe he had already suspected the affair.
Marcus continued.
“The amendment also required a full accounting.”
“Did that happen?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the amendment was never filed with the trust records held by the bank.”
Caspian leaned forward.
“Where was it?”
“In your grandfather’s attorney’s archive.”
“Then how did you find it?”
“Evelyn contacted the estate firm.”
I stared.
“What does this mean?”
“It means Dalton’s transfers may have violated the trust even more clearly than we initially believed.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Evelyn nodded for me to answer on speaker.
“Hello?”
A male voice.
“Is this Miranda Hale?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Peter Lowell. I used to work at Hale & Shaw.”
Dalton’s firm.
My heartbeat increased.
“What do you want?”
“I saw the graduation video.”
The speech had gone viral overnight.
Millions of views.
Caspian defending me.
Seraphine exposed.
The internet had turned one humiliating moment into a public spectacle.
Peter continued.
“If you’re reopening your divorce, you need to know something.”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“What?”
Peter hesitated.
“Dalton kept two sets of financial records.”
Nobody spoke.
“How do you know?”
“I prepared them.”
My blood ran cold.
“Why?”
“I was a junior associate.”
His voice shook.
“I did what I was told.”
Evelyn asked:
“Do you have copies?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Safe.”
“Why keep them?”
“Because six years ago, Martin Shaw made me sign documents I knew were false.”
He inhaled.
“I was afraid someday they would blame me.”
I looked at Caspian.
His face was pale.
Peter continued.
“The trust money is only part of it.”
“What else?”
I asked.
“Dalton concealed income during the divorce.”
“How much?”
“At least one-point-two million dollars.”
Naomi swore.
Peter continued.
“And there’s a property.”
“What property?”
“A lake house.”
I frowned.
Dalton never owned a lake house.
At least not that I knew.
“Where?”
“Near Lake Granby.”
“Whose name?”
Peter paused.
“Caspian’s.”
My son went completely still.
“What?”
Peter answered.
“The property was purchased when he was twelve.”
I looked at my son.
Then at Evelyn.
Then back at the phone.
“Why would Dalton put a house in Caspian’s name?”
May you like
Peter’s voice dropped.
“Because he needed somewhere to hide money.”
