Daniel’s eyes flicked toward the back of the chapel. Too late. Two plainclothes detectives stood near the doors, their hands folded. Behind them waited a uniformed officer holding a sealed evidence bag.
I had not come to scream. Screaming was what Daniel expected from the women he hurt.
So I opened the folder I had carried beneath my coat.
“Three weeks ago, Maya discovered you had emptied her inheritance account and moved the funds through Celeste’s consulting company. Two weeks ago, she contacted a divorce attorney. Nine days ago, she scheduled a meeting with me. She never made it.”
Daniel’s mother, who had sat dry-eyed in the front row, snapped, “How dare you accuse my son at his wife’s funeral?”
I looked directly at her. “Your son searched ‘stair fall pregnancy survival rate’ at 2:14 a.m. on the night Maya died.”
A sob moved through the chapel.
Daniel whispered, “That’s not mine.”
“Your laptop. Your login. Your face on the security camera entering the study five minutes before the search.”
Celeste’s hand loosened from his arm.
Daniel noticed.
That was the first crack.
Part 3
“Lena,” Daniel said carefully, “whatever you think you have, it won’t bring Maya back.”
“No,” I said. “But it will keep you from spending her money.”
I nodded toward the technician standing in the side aisle. He connected a tablet to the chapel’s memorial screen, the one meant for baby photos and wedding portraits.
Instead, Maya’s final messages appeared.
Daniel said I’m unstable. If I disappear, check the stairs. Check Celeste. Check the account labeled Northstar.
Celeste made a small choking sound.
Daniel lunged toward the screen, but Detective Ramos caught his arm.
“Don’t touch me,” Daniel hissed.
Ramos twisted him back with calm precision. “Then stand still.”
The screen changed again. Bank transfers. Hotel receipts. A message from Celeste: Once she signs the insurance papers, we leave. Daniel’s reply: She won’t sign. I’ll handle it.
The chapel erupted.
Daniel shouted over them, “Fake! All of it is fake!”
I stepped close enough that only the front rows could hear me. “Maya recorded you.”
His face went blank.
Through the speakers, my sister’s voice filled the chapel.
Daniel, stop. You’re scaring me.
Then his voice followed, low and furious.
You should have stayed stupid, Maya.
