The Call Victor Never Expected Her to Record
Chapter 03 - The Call Victor Never Expected Her to Record
Claire activated the recorder on her phone before answering. Her fear had not vanished, but it no longer controlled her.
“The trust was created before our marriage,” she said. “You have no claim to it.”
Victor laughed softly. “Paper can be replaced. Records can disappear. Judges only see what attorneys place in front of them.”
His confidence told Claire more than a confession could. He believed the truth was already buried.
She glanced at Evelyn, who pointed to the last page of Daniel’s letter. A phone number was written beneath a new address in Vermont.
Claire kept Victor talking. She asked why he had used her father’s patents, why the agreement carried a signature she never made, and why North Harbor Consulting had received company payments. At first, Victor denied everything. Then his voice sharpened.
“You were supposed to stay home and smile beside me,” he said. “I built that company.”
“You built it with my ideas, my father’s patents, and money you stole.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, Victor said, “Meet me tonight. Come alone, and perhaps I’ll let you keep enough to start over.”
Claire ended the call.
Within an hour, she and Evelyn were sitting in the office of federal financial investigator Lena Brooks, an old friend of Thomas’s. Lena examined the documents, the bank notice, and the recording. The trust appeared authentic, but the divorce ruling would not collapse overnight. They needed a living witness who could connect Victor to the forged filings.
Daniel Reese was their only chance.
They called the number from the letter. A nervous voice answered after six rings.
Daniel admitted he still possessed encrypted copies of Victor’s ledgers, emails, and instructions to forge Claire’s signature. He had hidden them because he feared Victor’s influence. After learning that Thomas’s trust had been restored, he agreed to testify.
Before Daniel could send the files, the call abruptly ended.
Lena discovered that someone had tried to access his cloud account seconds earlier. Victor was moving fast.
That evening, Claire received a message containing an address and a photograph of the leather folder resting on Victor’s desk.
Her blood turned cold.
The folder was no longer beside Evelyn.
Someone had entered Lena’s secured office and stolen it.
May you like
Beneath the photograph, Victor had written:
Midnight. The old company warehouse. Bring the trust password—or your father’s evidence disappears forever.
