Chapter 10: The Daughter He Declared Insane
For several minutes, I couldn't look away from the document.
My name appeared beneath a court order declaring me mentally incapable of managing my own affairs.
The application had been filed nine years earlier.
Three months before my wedding.
Three months before Grant had proposed.
I read the date again.
"Daniel, what exactly is this?""
He adjusted his glasses and examined the document.
"It's an emergency guardianship petition. According to this filing, your husband claimed you were suffering from a condition that prevented you from making financial decisions.""
"But I wasn't.""
"I know.""
"Then how did a judge approve it?""
Daniel turned another page.
"Your husband submitted a medical evaluation, two witness statements, and a declaration from a physician.""
I recognized the physician's name.
Dr. Howard Mitchell.
He had been Grant's personal doctor for years.
"He never examined me," I said.
Daniel looked at me.
"Are you certain?""
"I have never been to his office.""
He made a note.
"Then we have grounds to challenge the order.""
I felt sick.
Grant hadn't simply been hiding money.
He had created a legal mechanism that could have allowed him to control my finances without my knowledge.
"Did he ever use this order?""
Daniel examined the transaction records.
"Apparently, yes.""
He pointed to a paragraph near the bottom of the filing.
"Your husband was appointed temporary financial guardian, subject to periodic review.""
I shook my head.
"How could I not know?""
"The court file indicates that notice was delivered to an address you occupied nine years ago.""
I stared at him.
That apartment had been rented under Grant's name.
He had collected our mail.
He had handled every document related to our wedding.
I remembered him bringing home a stack of envelopes one evening.
"Just routine banking paperwork," he'd said.
I'd signed where he pointed.
Or so I thought.
"Daniel, what happened to the guardianship?""
He flipped through the file.
"It was terminated fourteen months later.""
"Why?""
"Your husband submitted a withdrawal request.""
I frowned.
"Why would he give up that kind of control?""
Daniel turned another page.
"Because he obtained a different authorization.""
He placed another document in front of me.
It was a financial power of attorney.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
I stared at it.
This time, I recognized the date.
It was the day Grant had taken me to a private medical clinic, claiming I needed a routine health check before we finalized our wedding insurance.
He had asked me to sign several forms.
I had been exhausted.
I had trusted him.
"That signature isn't mine," I whispered.
Daniel examined it.
"The handwriting appears similar to the other disputed documents.""
I pressed my palms against the table.
"How much did he steal?""
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "We estimate the total exposure could exceed sixty million dollars.""
I closed my eyes.
Sixty million.
My mother had worked her entire life to build something that could protect me.
Grant had spent nearly a decade dismantling it.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Grant.
*I know what Daniel showed you. Don't believe those documents. Your mother was sick, and I did what was necessary.*
Another message arrived.
*You need to come home. We can still fix this.*
I typed a response.
*You declared your wife mentally incompetent before marrying her. What exactly are we fixing?*
His reply came immediately.
*I protected you.*
I stared at those two words.
Then I blocked his number.
Daniel closed the folder.
"We should contact the authorities immediately.""
"Do it.""
"There's another issue. If the guardianship documents are fraudulent, every transaction approved under that authority may be challenged.""
"Good.""
"But your husband may already have transferred the assets through several layers of corporate ownership.""
"Then follow every layer.""
Daniel nodded.
Before he could make the call, the conference room door opened.
Caroline stood there with her phone in her hand.
"Nia, I found something.""
She placed the phone on the table.
It was an old photograph of my mother standing outside a hospital entrance.
The date was visible in the corner.
October 18.
The same day Grant had sent me the photograph.
But Caroline had something else.
A printed email.
"I found this in an old backup account your mother used. She sent it to me the night before she disappeared.""
I read the message.
Caroline, if anything happens to me, please remember that the girl who married Grant is not the first person he tried to silence.
My fingers tightened.
"Who was the first?""
Caroline shook her head.
"Your mother never told me.""
Then she pointed to the final line.
Look for the name Margaret Vale. She knows what happened to Edward's first wife.
Daniel immediately searched the name in his database.
A few seconds later, he looked up.
"Margaret Vale was Edward Whitmore's first wife.""
I frowned.
"His first wife?""
"She died in 1998.""
Caroline leaned forward.
"No. She disappeared in 1998. Edward announced that she had died overseas, but I never saw a death certificate.""
Daniel searched again.
A property record appeared.
Margaret Vale had owned a small estate outside Greenwich, Connecticut.
The property had been transferred to a company controlled by Edward Whitmore six months after her disappearance.
Then another record appeared.
A private trust had been established in Margaret's name.
Its beneficiary was listed as:
*ELEANOR HARTWELL.*
I stared at the screen.
My mother had been connected to Edward's first wife.
And the connection had been hidden for decades.
Daniel printed the record.
"There's a phone number associated with the trust's former administrator.""
He called it.
A woman answered.
After introducing himself, Daniel asked whether Margaret Vale was still alive.
The woman went silent.
Then she whispered:
"Who is asking?""
"My name is Daniel Bennett. I'm representing Nia Whitmore.""
Another long silence.
Then the woman said:
"Tell Nia that Margaret has been waiting for her.""
I grabbed the phone.
"Where is she?""
The woman hesitated.
"At the old Hartwell estate.""
"Is she safe?""
"No," she replied.
"Why not?""
The woman's voice broke.
"Because Grant Whitmore has been looking for her.""
May you like
Then she added one final sentence.
"Margaret is the only person who can prove that Edward Whitmore never legally owned the company your husband has been trying to steal.""
