Chapter 3 - The House PapersAmanda spent the night at a hotel near the hospital.
Leo slept beside her.
Derek sent twenty-three messages.
Most were variations of the same idea.
You are overreacting.
It was an accident.
You hit me.
We need to discuss your behavior.
Amanda finally turned off her phone.
The next morning, a nurse discharged Leo with instructions to monitor him and follow up with his pediatrician.
Amanda did not return to the mansion.
She drove to her sister’s empty condo, which was available while her sister traveled for work.
Rosa brought clothes.
And another envelope.
“What is this?”
“I found it in Mr. Derek’s office.”
Amanda hesitated.
“I don’t want stolen documents.”
“I did not steal them.”
Rosa looked nervous.
“They were left in the printer tray.”
Amanda opened the envelope.
At the top:
MARITAL PROPERTY RESTRUCTURING AGREEMENT
Her name appeared below Derek’s.
“What is this?”
Rosa shook her head.
Amanda read.
The language was dense.
She understood enough.
The agreement would convert several of Amanda’s separately held assets into jointly managed marital property.
One of those assets was a portfolio inherited from her father.
Another was her share in a commercial property in North Carolina.
Then she saw a clause referencing Leo.
Existing testamentary provisions benefiting minor child to be reviewed subsequent to execution.
Amanda’s blood ran cold.
She called an attorney she had used before marrying Derek.
“Can you meet me today?”
Two hours later, she sat in a conference room.
The attorney read silently.
“Did you sign this?”
“No.”
“Did Derek ask you to?”
“He said we needed updated estate documents.”
“When?”
“Several times.”
“Did he show you this exact agreement?”
“No.”
Her attorney turned another page.
“Do you know anything about Clark Residential Holdings?”
“Derek’s development company.”
“Are you invested?”
“No.”
“According to this draft, some of your assets would potentially secure obligations tied to it.”
Amanda stared.
“What obligations?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
She felt nauseated.
“Why mention Leo’s estate provisions?”
The attorney chose her words carefully.
“Because your current estate plan leaves most of your premarital assets in trust for Leo.”
“Yes.”
“Derek receives certain marital assets but not control of Leo’s trust.”
“That was intentional.”
“Then this document appears designed to substantially change that structure.”
Amanda closed her eyes.
Before the marriage, Derek had praised her for protecting Leo.
“I would never come between you and your son,” he had said.
Now she wondered whether he had only said it because challenging the trust before the wedding would have exposed him.
Her attorney continued.
“Do not sign anything.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Also, we should review any powers of attorney, account authorizations and recent property filings.”
Amanda looked up.
“You think he already did something?”
“I think we should verify.”
That afternoon, Derek appeared outside the condo.
Amanda refused to let him inside.
He stood in the hallway.
“You’re keeping my wife and stepson from me.”
“Leo is not coming back to the mansion.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
Derek laughed bitterly.
“So one accident ends our marriage?”
“No.”
Amanda stared at him.
“Your reaction to it may.”
“I froze.”
“You deleted the footage.”
His expression shifted.
“Rosa had no right to copy that.”
“Why did you delete it?”
“Because I knew you would use it exactly like this.”
“To show what happened?”
“To make me look like a monster.”
Amanda studied him.
“Were you trying to get me to sign a marital property agreement?”
Derek went still.
“Who gave you that?”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It was a draft.”
“Why does it mention Leo’s inheritance?”
“To simplify our estate planning.”
“Why does my property secure Clark Residential?”
His jaw tightened.
“We’re married.”
“That doesn't make my father's assets yours.”
“I didn’t say they were.”
“You wrote an agreement trying to make them ours.”
Derek stepped closer.
Amanda didn't move.
“How much trouble is the company in?”
His face changed.
That was enough.
“How much?”
“Temporary cash-flow pressure.”
“How much, Derek?”
He looked away.
“Two million.”
Amanda felt cold.
“You wanted my assets to cover two million dollars?”
“It’s a bridge facility.”
“Without telling me?”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“After I had final terms.”
Amanda laughed.
Then something else clicked.
“Does your mother know?”
Derek’s silence answered differently this time.
Not yes.
Not no.
Complicated.
“What did Mrs. Clark sign?”
“Amanda—”
“What did she sign?”
He rubbed his face.
“She guaranteed part of the company debt.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred thousand.”
Amanda stared.
Derek had not merely been hiding things from her.
He had tied his mother to the same financial pressure.
Then his phone rang.
MRS. CLARK.
Derek ignored it.
Amanda suddenly understood why he had been so desperate for her to return home.
It wasn't reconciliation.
He needed signatures.
And if Leo’s trust stood between Derek and Amanda's assets—
May you like
then Derek's resentment toward a three-year-old boy was no longer only emotional.
Leo represented money Derek could not touch.
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