Chapter 12 - His Password
Daniel came to Maya's office with his attorney the next morning.
Rachel sat across the conference table from him.
Between them lay a printed screenshot of the investigator portal.
Daniel looked at it for ten seconds.
Then he shook his head.
"I never logged into that."
Maya folded her hands.
"Your email address is listed as an authorized user."
"Mom must have added me."
Steven Price, Daniel's attorney, leaned toward him.
"Do you recognize the email address?"
"Yes."
"Do you use it?"
"Every day."
Maya said, "Then we need the access logs."
Steven nodded.
For once, the attorneys agreed immediately.
Daniel looked at Rachel.
"I didn't send that message."
Rachel's face remained still.
"You reported me to Family Services."
"I know."
"You knew about the fraudulent loan."
"I knew your signature was on it. I didn't know how Mom got it."
"You knew there was a plan to keep us at that house."
"Yes."
"So forgive me if your denial doesn't do much for me."
Daniel looked down.
"I understand."
The answer surprised her.
No defense.
No explanation.
Just I understand.
Maya changed the subject.
"Mr. Parker, did your mother know your email password?"
Daniel frowned.
"No."
Then he stopped.
"Maybe."
Rachel almost laughed.
"Of course."
"The company email system used a shared password manager."
"Who administered it?" Maya asked.
"Melissa."
"And after Melissa left?"
"Mom demanded access."
"Did she get it?"
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
"Yes."
Maya wrote something down.
"When?"
"The morning after the coffee incident."
Rachel looked at him.
"The same morning you called Family Services?"
Daniel went still.
"Yes."
The timeline felt too neat.
Linda obtained company password access.
Linda hired a private investigator.
Daniel was added to the portal.
A photograph was sent with a threat under circumstances that could make Daniel look responsible.
Rachel hated that the pattern seemed to point away from him.
It would have been emotionally simpler if every bad fact pointed in one direction.
Maya asked another question.
"Who sent the anonymous email with the screenshot?"
Rachel shook her head.
"We don't know."
Daniel looked at the printout.
"Melissa."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because she knew the password system."
Daniel looked toward the window.
"And because she always hated the investigator idea."
Rachel frowned.
"She knew Linda hired him?"
Daniel hesitated.
Too late.
Rachel caught it.
"You knew too."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Steven said quietly, "Daniel, answer carefully."
Rachel's pulse accelerated.
"When did you know your mother hired someone to watch me?"
Daniel opened his eyes.
"Before Sunday."
The room went silent.
Rachel stared at him.
"Before the coffee?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Daniel looked sick.
"Mom said she wanted documentation in case you left with Lily."
"Documentation of what?"
"Where you went."
"Why would she think I was leaving?"
Daniel did not answer.
Rachel leaned forward.
"Why would she think I was leaving before anything happened?"
Daniel's eyes met hers.
"Because we had discussed the possibility."
"We?"
"Mom and me."
Rachel stopped moving.
Maya spoke carefully.
"Discussed the possibility of Rachel leaving?"
Daniel nodded.
"Mom said Rachel was going to find out about the loan eventually."
Rachel's voice was almost a whisper.
"So you were preparing for me to leave."
"I was preparing for what might happen."
"By hiring someone to follow me."
"Mom hired him."
"With your knowledge."
Daniel looked down.
"Yes."
Rachel stood.
Maya said her name, but Rachel raised a hand.
"I need a minute."
She walked into the hallway.
The betrayal was not one thing.
That was what made it unbearable.
It was layers.
Each time Daniel claimed they had reached the bottom, another floor collapsed.
Five minutes later, Rachel returned.
She sat.
"Keep going."
Daniel looked at her.
"Rachel—"
"No apologies."
Her voice was flat.
"Facts."
Maya nodded.
"What else was planned before Sunday?"
Daniel's shoulders tightened.
"Nothing."
Rachel saw it immediately.
"That's a lie."
"It's not."
"Your face changes."
Daniel stared at her.
"What?"
"Every time you lie, you look at the table before you answer."
Daniel's gaze dropped involuntarily.
Rachel laughed bitterly.
"There."
Steven shifted in his chair.
"Daniel, I think we should stop this meeting."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He looked at Rachel again.
"Mom wanted me to talk to a custody lawyer before Sunday."
Rachel did not blink.
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she said if you discovered the loan, you'd take Lily and use her to force me to sell the company."
"And you believed that?"
"I didn't know what to believe."
Rachel leaned back.
"You knew enough to call a lawyer."
Daniel whispered, "Yes."
Maya looked at Steven.
"We will be requesting disclosure of those communications to the extent privilege is waived or any documents were shared with third parties."
Steven nodded tightly.
The meeting ended soon after.
Daniel stood near the door.
"Rachel."
She looked at him.
"I never wanted Lily hurt."
Rachel felt the air leave the room.
It was the wrong sentence.
Not because it was false.
Because it assumed a question nobody had asked yet.
Rachel stepped toward him.
"Why would you need to say that?"
Daniel's face went pale.
Maya's eyes sharpened.
Steven closed his folder slowly.
Daniel looked at the floor.
Rachel knew before he spoke.
May you like
There was still another layer.
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