CHAPTER 6 – The Investigator's File
CHAPTER 6 – The Investigator's File
At six that evening, retired federal investigator Thomas Reed arrived at my office.
He carried only one slim briefcase.
"I believe this belongs to your fiancée."
He placed a thick file on my desk.
"Everything inside is legally obtained."
I opened it.
The first photograph stopped me cold.
Vanessa.
Three years younger.
Standing beside an elderly man in a wheelchair.
Her arm wrapped affectionately around him.
Another engagement ring sparkled on her finger.
"Who is he?"
"Harold Whitmore."
"Eighty-two."
"Worth approximately four hundred million."
"What happened?"
Thomas opened another page.
"The engagement ended."
"Why?"
"He discovered she had convinced him to rewrite his estate."
No criminal charges.
Not enough evidence.
Only suspicion.
Then came another photograph.
Different man.
Different city.
Same smile.
Same performance.
Another wealthy executive.
Another broken engagement.
Another attempt to gain financial control.
There were four men.
Each richer than the last.
Each relationship ending the moment legal barriers appeared.
I looked up.
"She hunts billionaires."
Thomas nodded once.
"We believe so."
"You're number five."
Silence filled the room.
Then he handed me the final envelope.
"This is what concerned me most."
Inside was a series of printed text messages.
Vanessa.
And someone saved only as R.
R: Is the old woman out yet?
Vanessa: Soon.
R: Good. Once you're married, everything gets easier.
Vanessa: Daniel still trusts me.
R: Then don't make mistakes.
Vanessa: I never do.
The final message had been sent...
Just twelve hours earlier.
R: If he starts asking questions, accelerate the timeline.
I slowly lowered the papers.
"Can you identify R?"
Thomas met my eyes.
"We already did."
He slid one last photograph across the desk.
The man smiling beside Vanessa wasn't a business partner.
He wasn't a lawyer.
He wasn't a financial adviser.
He was her legal husband.
Married to Vanessa for almost four years.
Never divorced.
I stared at the marriage certificate clipped beneath the photo.
The wedding date.
The official seal.
The signatures.
Everything was authentic.
Vanessa wasn't my fiancée.
Legally...
She was someone else's wife.
Thomas spoke quietly.
"And that's only the beginning."
Before I could respond, my phone rang.
It was my home's security chief.
His voice was tense.
"Mr. Carter..."
May you like
"Someone just tried to enter your mother's bedroom."
"And they were carrying a syringe."
