Chapter 6: The Money Trail

I barely slept that night.

The moment Hart told me the forged report had been paid for through a Bellamy restaurant account, I knew this was bigger than a cruel birthday prank.

Someone had planned this carefully.

Someone had paid for the fake evidence, arranged the livestream, prepared the divorce agreement, and expected me to walk away quietly.

The next morning, Hart sent me a copy of the transaction records.

The payment had been made six days before Celeste’s birthday.

The description simply read: Consulting Services.

The recipient was Harbor Health Advisory.

“Can you trace who authorized it?” I asked.

“The transaction was approved electronically,” Hart said. “But the authorization code belongs to a user account registered to the Bellamy family office.”

I stared at the screen.

“Graham?”

“Not necessarily. Several people have access.”

She paused.

“But there's something else.”

Hart opened another document.

“Three months ago, Adrian transferred a substantial amount of money from your joint investment account into a private account.”

My chest tightened.

“How much?”

She told me the amount.

It was almost enough to make me forget how to breathe.

It was money I had contributed to during the five years of our marriage. Money I had assumed was still part of our family's emergency savings.

“Where did it go?”

“That's what we're investigating.”

I remembered the divorce agreement Adrian had tried to make me sign.

He hadn't just wanted me to leave.

He had wanted me to leave empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Owen sat at the hotel table eating cereal and drawing pictures of dinosaurs.

I watched him for a moment before turning back to Hart.

“Can you freeze the remaining joint accounts?”

“Already filed.”

“And the transfer?”

“We're asking the bank for the complete trail.”

I nodded.

For the first time since waking up in my second life, I felt something stronger than anger.

I felt prepared.

That afternoon, Graham called me.

I almost ignored him.

Then I remembered the strange look on Celeste’s face when he had ordered everyone to be tested.

I answered.

“Nora, I want to meet you.”

“About what?”

His voice lowered.

“About Celeste.”

I went still.

“What about her?”

“I don't know what she's hiding,” he said. “But after last night, I checked something I should have checked years ago.”

“What did you find?”

There was a long silence.

“A hospital record.”

My pulse quickened.

“Whose?”

“Tessa’s.”

I looked toward Owen.

“What does it say?”

“It says Tessa was born three weeks earlier than the date Celeste has always given our family.”

I sat down slowly.

The words from my second chance returned to me.

Celeste’s thirty-two-year secret will explain the rest.

Thirty-two years.

That was exactly how long ago Tessa had been born.

“Graham,” I whispered, “did the hospital record name the father?”

He didn't answer immediately.

When he finally spoke, his voice sounded broken.

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes.

“And it wasn't you.”