Chapter 8 - The House Daniel Had Never SeenDaniel didn't drive to the address.
He wanted to.
Instead, he called his attorney.
Evan Brooks had known the Bennett family for years. He wasn't primarily a divorce lawyer, but within ten minutes he connected Daniel with someone who was.
Rebecca Shaw.
Her first question surprised him.
"Are you safe?"
Daniel looked through the glass office door at Laura upstairs.
"Yes."
"Is your daughter safe?"
"Yes."
"Then don't make any major financial moves until we understand the situation."
"I'm not trying to clean out accounts."
"Good. Don't change locks. Don't threaten anybody. Don't post anything. Don't confront your wife about finances unless necessary."
Daniel almost laughed.
"You're about three hours late on confrontation."
Rebecca didn't.
"Then start being boring now."
"What?"
"Boring wins. Calm texts. Normal parenting. Documentation. No screaming. No revenge."
Daniel understood.
Laura might have betrayed him.
He didn't need to destroy himself responding to it.
Rebecca reviewed the basics of the prenup and asked him to send a copy.
Then Daniel mentioned the house.
"Do you know whether your wife has independent assets?"
"Some."
"Enough for a million-dollar home?"
"No."
"Do you know that she purchased it?"
"Mark says she did."
"The affair partner?"
"My best friend."
There was a pause.
"I'm sorry."
Daniel hated hearing sympathy.
"Can we find out who owns it?"
"Yes. Property records may tell us, depending on how title is held. Don't trespass. Don't go there looking for drama."
"I won't."
After the call, Daniel sat alone.
He searched public property records.
The address Mark had sent belonged to an LLC.
Larkspur Residential Holdings.
Purchased six weeks earlier.
Cash.
$1.38 million.
Daniel stared.
Larkspur.
Laura loved larkspur flowers.
Their wedding arrangements had contained them.
Coincidence seemed unlikely.
He searched the LLC.
Registered through an attorney.
No obvious owner.
Daniel texted the information to Rebecca.
Then he checked their joint accounts.
Nothing close to $1.38 million had disappeared.
Laura had her own account.
Daniel knew that.
He'd never monitored it because trust had made monitoring feel unnecessary.
He remembered an inheritance from Laura's grandmother.
Roughly $180,000.
Not enough.
Where had the rest come from?
The office door opened.
Laura stood there.
"Are you talking to lawyers?"
"Yes."
Her expression tightened.
"Already?"
"You started seven months ago."
"Daniel."
He turned the monitor slightly so she could see the property record.
The color left her face.
"Larkspur Residential Holdings."
She said nothing.
"Nice name."
"Mark told you."
"Yes."
"Of course."
"Did you buy the house?"
Laura looked toward the hallway.
"Keep your voice down."
"Answer quietly."
She entered and shut the door.
"Yes."
Daniel stared at her.
"With what money?"
"Mine."
"You had $1.38 million I didn't know about?"
"It's not all mine."
"Whose is it?"
She folded her arms.
Daniel knew the answer before she spoke.
"Mark contributed."
He laughed.
"Mark says the house isn't his."
"He gave me money."
"How much?"
"Four hundred thousand."
Daniel did the math.
"Where did the other nine hundred eighty thousand come from?"
Laura said nothing.
"Laura."
"Investments."
"What investments?"
"Things I made over the years."
"Show me."
"I don't have to show you anything right now."
Daniel leaned back.
There it was again.
The calculated version of Laura.
The one who had been preparing while he was still assuming they were partners.
"Did you report the accounts during our financial planning?"
Her expression sharpened.
"Don't interrogate me."
"Did you?"
"I'll discuss finances with my attorney."
Daniel almost smiled.
"Now lawyers are okay?"
She ignored that.
"Mark had no right to tell you about the house."
"He seemed surprised you weren't planning to live there with him."
Laura looked away.
Daniel caught it.
"He thought that house was for you, Sophie, and him."
"I never promised him that."
"You let him believe it."
"That's between Mark and me."
Daniel stared.
"No. It became between you and me when my daughter toured it."
Laura's eyes flashed.
"She's my daughter too."
"Then stop using that sentence to justify decisions that affect her father."
Silence.
Daniel studied her.
"Who was the house really for?"
"Myself."
"And Sophie."
"Yes."
"Not Mark."
Laura hesitated.
"No."
Daniel felt an unexpected wave of disgust.
Mark had destroyed a fifteen-year friendship believing he was building a future with Laura.
Laura had destroyed a marriage while apparently planning a future that didn't necessarily include Mark either.
"You were using him."
Her eyes hardened.
"He made his choices."
"So did you."
Daniel's phone buzzed.
Rebecca had replied.
CALL ME.
He stepped into the hallway and called.
"I found something," she said.
"What?"
"The LLC isn't the interesting part."
Daniel waited.
"The attorney who registered it also represents your wife in the divorce consultation."
"Okay."
"And the purchase was financed partly through a private wire from an account opened eight months ago."
Daniel felt cold.
"Can you see where the money came from?"
"Not legally without discovery. But I can tell you one thing from documents you sent."
"What?"
"Your tax preparer listed an investment account last year that I don't think you've noticed."
Daniel frowned.
"In whose name?"
Rebecca paused.
"Your daughter's."
Daniel stopped breathing.
"Sophie's?"
"UTMA custodial account. Laura is listed as custodian."
Daniel closed his eyes.
There had been almost $600,000 in that account.
Money Daniel's father had left for Sophie's future.
May you like
And suddenly the secret house became more than marital betrayal.
It might have been bought partly with their daughter's money.
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