Chapter 2: The Woman in the Office
The financial crimes dominated headlines.
But one name kept appearing in the investigation.
Rachel Monroe.
At first nobody understood why.
Then Detective Harris showed me surveillance footage.
A woman entered Daniel's office repeatedly after business hours.
Blonde hair.
Designer clothing.
Confident smile.
Rachel.
My stomach tightened.
"Who is she?"
The detective hesitated.
Then Daniel answered.
His voice barely audible.
"My assistant."
The detective slid another photograph across the table.
This one showed Daniel and Rachel entering a luxury hotel together.
Three months before the fire.
I looked at my husband.
His silence told me everything.
The affair had been real.
Years of marriage.
Gone.
Vanessa smirked.
"See? I'm not the only liar in this family."
Daniel buried his face in his hands.
The truth poured out.
The affair.
The lies.
The secret meetings.
The promises.
Everything.
But the biggest revelation came from Rachel herself.
When detectives questioned her, she confessed that Vanessa had approached her first.
Vanessa knew Daniel was vulnerable.
She encouraged the relationship.
She manipulated both of them.
She wanted Daniel distracted.
Distracted enough not to notice the money disappearing.
Distracted enough not to notice the forged documents.
Distracted enough not to notice the fire being planned.
The affair wasn't just betrayal.
It was part of the scheme.
And suddenly every piece fit together.
Vanessa had been stealing from us for years.
The fire was supposed to eliminate the only person investigating her.
Me.