Chapter 3 - Brooke's First Surprise
I stared at her.
Of all the things Brooke might have asked, that was not one I expected.
“Why?”
She glanced toward the counter.
Marcy was pretending not to listen.
She was terrible at pretending.
“Daniel told me the trust paid quarterly distributions.”
“It does.”
“He said that was basically his retirement.”
“It isn’t.”
Brooke’s face changed.
“How much of it is his?”
“None.”
She blinked.
“What do you mean, none?”
“The trust belongs to me and, eventually, Lily.”
“But he manages it.”
“He used to help manage it.”
“He said your parents structured it for both of you.”
“No.”
For the first time since I had learned about their affair, I watched Brooke lose confidence.
Not guilt.
Not shame.
Confidence.
She sat back.
“He told me Miller’s was his.”
“The building belongs to the trust. The diner business belongs to the Millers. We own the property.”
“He said the apartments upstairs were part of his portfolio.”
I almost smiled.
“No.”
Brooke looked down.
Daniel had apparently transformed my family assets into his biography.
I should have enjoyed it.
Instead, I felt tired.
“Why are you asking?”
She hesitated.
Then pulled her phone from her purse.
“There’s something wrong with his accounts.”
“Which accounts?”
“I don’t know. He asked me to put a deposit on a condo.”
That got my attention.
“What condo?”
“Lake Forest.”
“How much?”
Her eyes met mine.
“One hundred and fifty thousand.”
“Whose money?”
“He said ours.”
I nearly laughed.
“You’ve been together publicly for eleven weeks.”
Her face hardened.
“You don't need to humiliate me.”
“I’m not.”
“You think I’m stupid.”
“No. I think you believed your boyfriend.”
That hurt more.
I could tell.
Brooke had probably prepared herself for rage.
She knew how to fight rage.
Calm made her hear her own questions.
“When did he ask for the money?” I said.
“Friday.”
The day I signed the trust petition.
Daniel must have known Rachel was investigating.
Perhaps he did not know I had already filed.
But he knew something was coming.
“Did you give it to him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted it wired to North Lake Advisory.”
Every nerve in my body went still.
“What did you say?”
“I asked why a consulting company needed my condo deposit.”
“And?”
“He said it was a tax structure.”
I almost admired the stupidity of that phrase.
A tax structure.
A useful collection of words people used when they wanted something to sound legitimate without explaining it.
“Brooke,” I said carefully, “do not transfer him money.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Correct.”
That surprised her.
“I’m telling you what I would tell Lily if she described the same situation.”
Brooke looked toward the window.
“What is North Lake?”
“We’re trying to determine that.”
“We?”
“My attorney.”
Her head snapped back toward me.
“You’re investigating him?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“I’m not discussing the details.”
She laughed once.
“Of course.”
“What does that mean?”
“You still protect him.”
I stared at her.
“I’m literally divorcing him.”
“But you do. You answer questions carefully. You don’t embarrass him publicly. Yesterday he brought me into your diner and sat in your seat, and you acted like we were strangers at an airport.”
“What did you want me to do?”
“I don’t know.”
Her eyes filled unexpectedly.
“Something.”
There was the truth.
Brooke had wanted proof too.
Proof that she mattered enough to destroy me.
Daniel had promised her that.
My pain was apparently part of the package.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She frowned.
“For what?”
“That he convinced you my reaction would tell you whether your relationship was real.”
She stared at me.
Then stood.
“You’re very good at this.”
“At what?”
“Making people feel small without raising your voice.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel small.”
“That’s worse.”
She left.
Marcy appeared thirty seconds later with pie.
“I didn’t order pie.”
“You needed it.”
“What kind?”
“Apple.”
“Fine.”
She placed the plate down.
“Is she leaving him?”
“I have no idea.”
“Do you care?”
I thought about it.
“No.”
This time, it was true.
But Brooke’s question stayed with me.
Is Daniel broke?
Rachel called that evening.
She had an answer.
North Lake Advisory was controlled by Trevor Gage, but Trevor had once worked with Daniel.
Not recently.
Twenty-seven years earlier.
They had been fraternity brothers at Northwestern.
Trevor had filed bankruptcy twice.
He currently lived outside Madison.
More important, bank records obtained through the trust proceeding showed North Lake transferred most of the money it received within seventy-two hours.
Some went to legitimate vendors.
Some went to brokerage accounts.
And $186,000 went to a luxury apartment developer.
The memo line read:
B Mercer residence.
Brooke Mercer.
Except Brooke's last name was Harris.
“Maybe B stands for something else,” I said.
Rachel shook her head.
“The unit was reserved in Brooke’s name.”
My stomach tightened.
Daniel had used trust money to help pay for Brooke’s apartment.
The affair did not bother me nearly as much as the theft.
Maybe that made me strange.
But marriage vows belonged to Daniel and me.
The trust belonged to my parents.
To Lily.
Eventually to Noah.
Daniel had taken money from people who trusted him to impress the woman helping him betray me.
Rachel continued.
“That isn’t the worst part.”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“There’s another $420,000 missing from a joint investment account.”
“Our personal account?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
That money was legally marital.
Daniel had every right to access it, though moving it during divorce proceedings was another matter.
“Where did it go?”
“North Lake.”
Again.
“Why route everything through them?”
“We think Trevor may be functioning as a pass-through.”
“For Daniel?”
“Possibly.”
“What are they buying?”
Rachel paused.
“That's what we’re trying to identify.”
Two days later, Daniel requested a meeting.
Lawyers present.
Neutral conference room.
I agreed.
He arrived without Brooke.
His attorney, Thomas Keane, looked exhausted.
Daniel looked angry.
“You involved Brooke.”
“She came to me.”
“You filled her head with nonsense.”
“I answered two questions.”
“She thinks I lied about the trust.”
“You did.”
His jaw tightened.
Thomas leaned toward him.
“Daniel.”
Daniel ignored him.
“You made me sound like some kept husband.”
“I told her the assets weren’t yours.”
“I built their value.”
“You contributed to management.”
“I doubled them.”
“You also transferred $735,000 to a company owned by your college friend.”
Silence.
Thomas turned toward Daniel.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
That was interesting.
Apparently his own attorney had not known.
Rachel slid three documents across the table.
Daniel did not touch them.
May you like
“What did North Lake do for the trust?” she asked.
“Ad
