Detective Harris arrived at the house before midnight.
I gave him the second phone.
He read the messages silently.
“This changes everything.”
“There’s more,” I said.
I handed him copies of the bank records.
He looked at the transfers.
“Your husband has been moving money?”
“For months.”
“Do you know where?”
I shook my head.
The detective turned the phone over.
“We might.”
He showed me a series of transfers.
Millions of dollars had been moved into a company called Northstar Family Holdings.
The listed owner was Camellia.
My mouth went dry.
“She doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“No,” Detective Harris said. “But someone was using her name.”
He looked at me.
“There’s something else.”
He opened another file.
“Your husband’s company recently purchased a large life-insurance policy.”
My heart sank.
“On whom?”
He looked at me.
“You.”
The room went silent.
PART 6 — THE TRUTH ABOUT LUKE
The next morning, I sat beside Brucie’s hospital bed while Detective Harris explained everything.
Luke had been facing serious financial problems.
His company was losing money.
He had borrowed heavily.
He had also been having an affair with Camellia.
But the affair wasn’t the most important part.
Luke had discovered that my father’s estate had left me substantial assets.
He couldn’t access them while our marriage remained ordinary.
So he created a plan.
First, he would isolate me financially.
Then he would convince everyone that I was responsible for Brucie’s death.
Once I was emotionally destroyed, he intended to pressure me into signing documents transferring property and insurance benefits.
Camellia would become his new partner.
Celina would help manage the story.
And Brucie’s death would be described as a tragic accident.
I stared at the hospital monitor.
“They were going to use my daughter to destroy me.”
Detective Harris nodded.
“But they made one mistake.”
“What?”
“They left evidence.”
I looked at him.
“The vehicle camera.”
I remembered.
“There was a camera in the SUV?”
“Yes.”
The detective pressed play.
The recording showed Camellia placing Brucie inside the vehicle.
Then she walked away.
But before she left, another person appeared.
Luke.
He opened the rear door.
He leaned toward Brucie.
Then he said something that made my entire body go cold.
“Mom will make sure your mother takes the blame.”
PART 7 — THE ARREST
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