Chapter 3 - THE LAWYER WHO HELPED HERMarcus arrived at 6:42 a.m.
He examined the paperwork.
His expression became darker with every page.
“This is professionally prepared.”
Dominic stood near the window.
“By whom?”
Marcus pointed to a footer.
“Halpern & Price.”
Dominic knew the firm.
One of their partners, Elliot Price, handled secondary Mercer trust matters.
Not anymore.
“Call him.”
Marcus did.
Elliot answered on the fourth ring.
His voice became nervous when Dominic spoke.
“You’re home?”
Dominic ignored the question.
“Did you prepare a beneficiary release for Natalie?”
Silence.
“Elliot.”
“I prepared a draft.”
“Why?”
“Brooke told me you requested it.”
Dominic looked at Brooke.
She remained silent.
“And my signature?”
“I received digital authorization.”
“From where?”
Another pause.
“Your private account.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
Only a few people had access to that system.
Brooke was one.
“Come to Newport.”
“I’m in Boston.”
“Then start driving.”
Dominic ended the call.
Brooke folded her arms.
“You’re humiliating me over paperwork.”
Dominic stared at her.
“The wedding is canceled.”
The words landed like a gunshot.
Brooke went still.
“No.”
Natalie, standing in the doorway now, froze too.
Brooke shook her head.
“You’re angry.”
“I’m finished.”
“You cannot cancel our wedding forty-eight hours before the ceremony.”
“I just did.”
“Three hundred guests are coming.”
“They can stay home.”
“My family—”
“Can stay home too.”
Brooke stepped closer.
“You love me.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I loved who I thought you were.”
That hurt her.
He could see it.
But not enough to change anything.
She whispered:
“You’re choosing Natalie over me.”
“No.”
Dominic shook his head.
“You made this choice when you threatened a widow and her child in my mother’s house.”
Brooke’s eyes became cold.
“You always let them use you.”
Natalie flinched.
Dominic didn’t.
“Leave.”
Brooke stared.
“This is my home too.”
“No.”
“It will be after marriage.”
“There is no marriage.”
She laughed.
Then something strange happened.
Her confidence returned.
“You think canceling the wedding fixes this?”
Dominic narrowed his eyes.
“What does that mean?”
Brooke picked up her purse.
“You should look at the trust accounts before you start celebrating.”
Then she walked out.
Dominic watched her go.
Marcus looked at him.
“That sounded like a threat.”
“It was.”
Within ten minutes, Dominic ordered a full audit.
By noon, they found the first missing transfer.
$400,000.
Then another.
$750,000.
Then $1.2 million.
Money had been leaving Catherine’s trust for eight months.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Total missing:
$6.8 million.
Dominic stared at the report.
The cottage was never the real target.
May you like
The trust was.
And Brooke had already been stealing from it long before she tried to remove Natalie.
