“Are you saying thatNadinedoesn’t exist?” Brooks asks.
“She does exist,” I counter. “Justin wrote all about her in the journals I found. He was OCD about writing everything down. His manipulation of me, how he got me to marry him, and then the women he screwed around with. Nadine’s name was listed.”
“Well, she may exist somewhere, and he might have fooled around with her, but he never left her any money as far as I can tell,” Chad replies, and all I can do is stare at him. “I suspect that Daniel was committing ahugeamount of fraud by falsifying the trust, making you sign papers that weren’t actually Justin’s wishes, and taking you for a ride. He couldn’t access Justin’s money directly because his name wasn’t on any of the accounts, butyoucould. So he made up a false trust and was getting a shit ton of money from you every month.”
“I’m going to fuckingruinhim,” Brooks growls next to me.
“He should be arrested,” I add. “Jesus, he should be in jail for this.”
That man made my life a living fucking hell!
“That’s the other thing, Jules.” Chad clears his throat and then pulls his hand down his face. “When I started making inquiries about the trust and requested information from him, Daniel must have panicked because just a few days later, he was found dead in his office.”
Brooks’s arm immediately wraps around me, and I close my eyes.
Shit.
Shit.
“That’s why I haven’t heard fromNadine.”
“Yeah.” I open my eyes and see Chad nodding. “That’s why. It was all a scam, Jules. You were never the trustee for your late husband’s mistress. And the fact that Daniel made you feel that, and live it, is so despicable, I can’t even. I’m sorry.”
I shake my head and let all of this news soak in.
I don’t have to pay Nadine another dime.
Daniel might have been a bigger piece of shit than Justin.
“I hate that he killed himself.” I clear my suddenly tight throat. “Because he should have paid for what he did. He should have owned up to it.”
“I agree,” Chad says, and Brooks squeezes my shoulder.
“But also, this all means that I’m free from that nightmare.”
A smile spreads over Chad’s face. “You’re right. The money in that account is yours. No one is going to abuse or manipulate you again.”
“No, they won’t,” Brooks agrees.
“Chad, if I want to gift the majority of all of the money to a charity, or non-profit, do I need an attorney for that?”
His eyebrows climb into his hairline.
“No, you just need a checkbook or a wire transfer.”
I nod, and then Brooks helps me stand, and I cross over to shake Chad’s hand.
“Thank you for all of your work. Just send me a bill?—”
“Nah, this one was on the house. This might be my most interesting case to date. And I hate that he fucked with you like that. You’ve been through enough. Just enjoy your life, Jules.”
He shakes Brooks’s hand, and then he lets himself out. Brooks and I sit down again, cuddled up together in the silence.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Oh, my leg is?—”
