Chapter 2 - The Dinner Table War
The silence in the house over the next forty-eight hours was suffocating.
Daniel thought he was being subtle, but every move he made betrayed his panic. He spent hours pacing in the backyard, whispering furiously into his phone. Every time I walked into a room, he would abruptly end his call with a terse, "I'll call you back regarding the litigation brief."
He didn't realize I had already contacted a top-tier forensic accountant and a ruthless corporate litigation attorney named Eleanor Vance—who, by sheer poetic justice, had no relation to Julianna.
Sitting in Eleanor’s high-rise office downtown the following afternoon, the reality of the trap became even clearer.
"Your husband is thorough, Victoria," Eleanor said, throwing a dossier onto the glass table. "He’s been laying the groundwork for this for over eighteen months. He used his position as your legal counsel to insert subtle clauses into your corporate filings. But here is the kicker..." Eleanor leaned forward, her eyes razor-sharp. "...they don't just want your money and your company. Daniel has placed a massive life insurance policy on you, effective as of last month."
My stomach turned to lead. "What?"
"A two-million-dollar umbrella policy with an accidental death benefit," Eleanor said grimly. "If something were to happen to you... he doesn't just get the company through the Cayman shell. He gets a tax-free payout."
Cold horror washed over me. Liam’s words echoed in my head: By the time you come home, the money won't belong to you anymore. They hadn't just planned to rob me; if financial theft failed, they had a backup plan.
"What do we do?" I asked, my voice deadly quiet.
"We don't let them know we know," Eleanor said. "In forty-eight hours, your company is holding its annual charity gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Julianna will be there. Daniel will be there. You are going to act like the clueless, devoted wife and CEO. And while they think they are putting the final touches on their scheme, we are going to springing a trap that will wipe them out publicly."
That evening, I hosted a dinner party at our home. I invited Julianna under the guise of an "urgent emergency meeting" to discuss the canceled Chicago trip.
When Julianna arrived, she was wearing a sleek crimson dress and a smile made of glass. She hugged me tight.
"Victoria, darling! I was so sorry to hear about your flight," Julianna gushed, pouring herself a glass of wine. "We were all ready for the Chicago presentations."
"Oh, it was a blessing in disguise," I replied, handing a plate of hors d'oeuvres to Daniel, who stood beside her. His hand subtly brushed against Julianna's waist as he took the plate—a micro-gesture they thought I wouldn't notice.
"Is it?" Daniel asked, his voice strained. "I thought that Chicago deal was critical for your company's valuation, Vic."
"It was," I said, taking a slow sip of my water. "But staying home allowed me to review our internal audit reports. It's fascinating what you find when you actually look closely at the numbers."
Julianna froze mid-sip. Her eyes darted to Daniel for a microsecond.
"Audit reports?" Julianna asked smoothly, though her grip on the wine glass tightened. "I thought finance handled all of that."
"They do," I smiled, stepping closer to them both. "But as the founder, the buck stops with me. I found some... unusual offshore transfers routing through the notary office downtown. Daniel, do you remember signing off on those Cayman disclosures?"
Daniel’s face drained of color. He cleared his throat loudly. "I... well, routine tax structures, Victoria. You know how complex corporate law is."
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"Of course," I patted his arm affectionately. "Which is why I hired an external forensic team today to help us clear up the confusion before the Gala tomorrow night. I wouldn't want anyone thinking my own husband and my top executive were committing wire fraud, right?"
The heavy silence that followed was broken only by the sound of Julianna’s wine glass clinking violently against her ring as her hand began to shake.
