Chapter 8 - The Doctor Who Had Never Treated ClaireThe declaration came from Dr. Leonard Price, a private psychiatrist Claire had never met.
Yet the document described her as “emotionally volatile.”
Rebecca read it twice.
“This is not a diagnosis.”
Claire looked at her.
“It sounds like one.”
“It’s carefully worded. He says Richard consulted him about concerns regarding your behavior.”
“So Richard described me to a psychiatrist and got him to write this?”
“Essentially.”
Claire felt furious.
“What behavior?”
Rebecca read from the declaration.
“Sudden anger, paranoia regarding finances, excessive protectiveness toward Emma, unpredictable emotional episodes.”
Claire laughed.
“Paranoia regarding finances? He actually stole the money.”
“Which is why evidence matters.”
Claire paced.
“Who does this?”
“Someone preparing litigation.”
Richard had apparently been planning far longer than she realized.
He wasn’t reacting to divorce.
He had anticipated it.
The next discovery explained why.
Nora brought printed company records to Rebecca’s office.
Richard’s development firm was collapsing.
Three major projects had stalled.
A lender had issued default notices.
Investors were demanding answers.
Richard owed nearly four million dollars across business obligations.
Claire stared at the number.
“How did I not know?”
Nora answered quietly.
“Because he worked very hard to make sure nobody knew.”
Richard had been using new financing to cover old losses.
Selling optimism.
Buying time.
The luxury home remained immaculate.
His suits remained expensive.
Their vacations continued.
Appearance was Richard’s most profitable product.
“When would everything have collapsed?” Claire asked.
Nora shrugged.
“Maybe weeks.”
Claire thought about the refinance application.
“He wanted the equity in our house.”
“Yes.”
“And the money he moved?”
“Probably to keep paying creditors.”
Rebecca looked through documents.
“Not all of it.”
One company had received $310,000 in “consulting fees.”
Cross Advisory LLC.
Madeline’s company.
Claire looked up.
Madeline had told them about six hundred thousand.
Where was the rest?
Rebecca contacted Madeline’s attorney.
By evening another meeting was arranged.
Madeline appeared terrified.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you.”
Claire’s patience disappeared.
“What now?”
“Richard borrowed money privately.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Try.”
“Over a million.”
Claire stared.
“From whom?”
Madeline swallowed.
“A man named Victor Kane.”
Rebecca stopped writing.
“You know him?”
Madeline nodded.
“Not personally. I know the reputation.”
“What reputation?”
“He loans money to people banks won’t touch.”
Claire understood.
“Loan shark?”
“Not exactly. Contracts. Collateral. Legal on paper.”
“And off paper?”
Madeline looked away.
“I don’t know.”
That meant yes.
Claire suddenly remembered Richard checking doors repeatedly over the past six months.
The outdoor cameras.
His anger when Emma opened the front door without asking.
She had thought his controlling behavior was worsening.
Maybe fear had been feeding it.
Not excusing it.
Fueling it.
“Did Victor threaten him?”
“I heard Richard arguing with someone about payment.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“What did he say?”
Madeline hesitated.
“He said, ‘My family has nothing to do with this.’”
Claire’s stomach turned.
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Did you hear the other person?”
“No.”
Claire thought about the photograph outside her bedroom.
Maybe Richard hadn’t taken it.
“What does Victor look like?”
Madeline pulled out her phone.
A search produced a photograph.
Gray-haired man.
Mid-fifties.
Immaculate suit.
Claire did not recognize him.
“Could he know where we live?”
Madeline gave her a bleak look.
“If Richard used the house as part of a collateral package, yes.”
Claire felt cold.
Rebecca immediately contacted investigators.
The financial case was no longer simply about divorce.
By the following morning, authorities wanted to interview Claire.
They explained cautiously that Richard might have made representations about marital property without her knowledge.
“Could we lose our house?”
Claire asked.
“Not automatically,” Rebecca said afterward. “Especially if signatures were forged.”
“But?”
“But it may become complicated.”
Claire looked toward Emma.
Her daughter was sitting at the dining table with Susan, doing homework.
She had already lost her sense of safety.
Claire refused to let Richard take the physical home too.
Her phone buzzed.
A text from Richard.
RICHARD: We need to talk before other people get hurt.
Claire showed Rebecca.
The attorney’s expression hardened.
“Do not respond.”
Another message.
RICHARD: Ask Madeline what she promised Victor.
Claire looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Rebecca immediately called Madeline.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then Claire’s phone rang.
Madeline.
She answered.
A terrified whisper came through.
“Claire, he found me.”
“Who?”
Madeline started crying.
May you like
“Victor.”
Then the call cut off.
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