Chapter 18: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Replace Me

Mara Collins placed the leather folder in front of me.

“Open it,” she said.

I looked at Adrian.

He had gone completely still.

“Nora, don't.”

Mara gave a humorless smile.

“That's exactly what he said when he realized I kept copies.”

I opened the folder.

Inside were emails, contracts, photographs, and several signed documents.

The first document was dated eighteen months before Celeste's birthday.

It was a draft divorce settlement between Adrian and me.

My name was already printed at the top.

The document even listed the amount Adrian intended to offer me.

Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

The same amount Celeste had offered me after the fake DNA test.

My fingers tightened around the pages.

“You planned this eighteen months ago.”

Adrian finally spoke.

“It wasn't supposed to happen like this.”

Mara interrupted.

“He wanted you gone quietly.”

She pulled out another document.

It was a preliminary agreement between Adrian and Mara.

The agreement described their proposed marriage after my divorce was finalized.

I read the date.

It had been signed six months before the birthday dinner.

My marriage hadn't simply fallen apart.

Adrian had already planned what would come after me.

Mara looked at Adrian.

“You told me Nora would never discover the truth about your family.”

Adrian's jaw tightened.

“I believed that.”

“You also told me Owen would be removed from the family trust once Nora signed the waiver.”

Graham's head snapped toward Adrian.

“What did you say?”

Adrian said nothing.

Mara opened another file.

“This is the revised trust plan.”

Hart took the document and examined it.

“If Nora signed the divorce agreement, Owen's beneficial interest would have been transferred into a controlled account.”

I stared at Adrian.

“You were going to take Owen's inheritance.”

“No.”

“Then explain it.”

He struggled to answer.

“My mother said it was temporary.”

I almost laughed.

“Everything with your family is temporary until someone loses everything.”

Tessa stepped forward.

“What about me?”

Mara looked at her.

“Your name was included in the original trust.”

Tessa's face went pale.

“And after the divorce?”

Hart answered quietly.

“Your share would have been placed under Celeste's control as well.”

Tessa turned toward her mother.

“You were going to steal from both of us.”

Celeste's expression hardened.

“I was protecting the family.”

Graham shook his head.

“Stop calling theft protection.”

Officer Brooks collected the documents one by one.

Then Mara handed her a small flash drive.

“There is one more thing.”

Officer Brooks asked, “What's on it?”

Mara looked at Adrian.

“The original recording of the meeting where Adrian, Celeste, and the investigator planned the birthday livestream.”

Adrian suddenly stood.

“You recorded us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Mara's eyes hardened.

“Because I realized I was being brought into a marriage built on lies.”

Officer Brooks secured the flash drive.

Hart looked at me.

“This could establish intent.”

I nodded.

For months, Adrian had wanted everyone to believe I was the problem.

Now the evidence showed the opposite.

I had been targeted long before I ever knew I was in danger.

Then Tessa looked at Mara.

“Why did you help Nora?”

Mara answered without hesitation.

“Because I was supposed to replace her.”

She paused.

“And I realized I was being used too.”

I closed the folder.

“Then let's make sure none of us gets used again.”

Outside, the first reporters were beginning to gather.

The birthday livestream had started as a family spectacle.

By tomorrow morning, the truth was going to become public.

And this time, the Bellamy family wouldn't control the story.