Chapter 12 - Daniel's Version.
Daniel's attorney arrived wearing a dark suit and an expression of practiced outrage.
Within minutes, Daniel had constructed a completely different story.
According to him, Kelly had become obsessed with Sophia.
Kelly had forged the marriage certificate.
Kelly had manipulated the transfers.
Kelly had placed the capsules in Sophia's bag.
Kelly had put powder in the coffee.
Daniel claimed he had been trying to protect Sophia all morning.
Sophia listened from a separate room while Rachel summarized the statement.
"He says the Bahamas flight was Kelly's idea."
Sophia smiled bitterly.
"Of course it was."
Rachel continued.
"He also claims the power of attorney was prepared by Kelly using scanned copies from his office."
"Does he have an explanation for why the money was going to Kelly's company?"
"He says he did not know she controlled it."
Sophia leaned back.
"He always did love a complete lie."
Rachel did not smile.
"The problem is that some pieces could be made to look plausible."
Sophia's eyes narrowed.
"What pieces?"
"Kelly admits putting the powder in your coffee."
"Because Daniel told her to."
"That must be proved."
Sophia hated the sentence.
Rachel placed another printout on the table.
"The transfer instructions carry Daniel's credentials."
"Good."
"But they were submitted from Kelly's laptop."
Sophia stared at her.
"Why?"
"Kelly says Daniel used her computer in the lounge."
Sophia looked through the small window in the door.
Kelly was speaking with an investigator.
Her face looked exhausted.
"He built the evidence around her."
Rachel nodded.
"Possibly."
The word sounded colder than yes.
Sophia thought about Daniel's habits.
He documented everything when it helped him.
He preferred other people's devices for sensitive work.
He sent instructions verbally and followed with vague emails.
Sophia had once admired his caution.
Now she saw the darker use for it.
Rachel's phone rang again.
The forensic lab had performed a preliminary test on the powder packet.
It was not an anti-nausea supplement.
It contained a strong sedating compound that could cause dangerous impairment when combined with alcohol or other medications.
Sophia remembered Daniel ordering champagne for the flight.
Her mouth went dry.
"Would it have killed me?"
Rachel was careful.
"We don't know."
"Would it have made me unconscious?"
"Possibly."
Sophia pictured herself boarding the plane after drinking the coffee.
Daniel would have held her passport.
He might have guided her through the terminal while telling strangers his new wife was sick.
No one would have questioned a husband helping a sleepy bride.
The thought made her hands shake.
A detective entered the room.
He asked Sophia to describe the morning from the beginning.
She did.
He asked whether Daniel knew about her father's warning.
Sophia paused.
"What warning?"
The detective looked at Rachel.
Rachel looked confused too.
He opened an evidence folder.
"We recovered a handwritten letter from Daniel's carry-on after he consented to a property inventory with his attorney present."
Sophia stared at the paper.
The handwriting belonged to her father.
Her father had been dead for eighteen months.
The detective read the first line aloud.
Daniel, if you ever use my daughter to reach this company, I will make sure every door closes on you.
Sophia's breath caught.
Her father had known something.
The detective turned the page.
Attached behind the letter was a private investigation report dated two years earlier.
The subject was Daniel Mercer.
The report included a photograph of Daniel outside a Las Vegas chapel.
Kelly stood beside him.
Sophia looked at Rachel.
"My father knew they were married."
Rachel's face collapsed.
"Sophia, I never saw this report."
The detective pointed to a note written in Daniel's handwriting at the bottom.
One line had been circled.
Bennett knows.
Sophia finally understood why Daniel had spent so long getting close to her after her father's death.
May you like
This had never started with love.
It had started with revenge.
