investigation.
That distinction mattered.
Daniel’s affair did not automatically prove financial misconduct.
His financial conduct did not automatically resolve our divorce.
Each issue required evidence.
Rebecca repeated that until I stopped wanting one giant answer for
everything.
PART 18
The diamond bracelet was recovered.
When authorities questioned its ownership, Daniel claimed I had given it
to him months earlier.
Then investigators saw his text saying the bracelet was a gift.
The problem was that he could not decide who had supposedly given it.
Me?
My mother?
Him to Chloe?
His story changed.
The photographs did not.
PART 19
My mother was still alive.
That made the bracelet confrontation particularly uncomfortable for
Daniel.
Her name was Margaret Sterling.
Seventy-two.
Retired.
Sharp enough to frighten attorneys.
When I told her what happened, she was silent.
Then she asked:
“He gave Chloe my bracelet?”
“Yes.”
“The ugly one?”
I laughed for the first time that day.
