The woman beside Daniel scoffed, twirling a high-end designer handbag on her shoulder.
“See, Daniel?” she purred, her voice dripping with condensation. “I told you she’d be sensible about it. No need for a dramatic scene in an airport lobby.”
Daniel smirked, clearly feeling victorious, completely oblivious to the cold, sharp shift in the air.
He hadn’t bothered to look down at the three tiny faces sleeping quietly in the triple stroller, nor had he noticed the tall, sharply dressed man in a dark charcoal suit who had just casually stepped out from behind a concrete pillar right behind them.
“So, Helen,” Daniel said, taking a step forward and extending a pen toward me, “I brought the preliminary quitclaim deed for the house right here in my coat pocket. We can just sign it, you pack your things by tomorrow morning, and—”
“Excuse me, sir,” a deep, quiet voice interrupted from behind him.
Daniel spun around, annoyed at the interruption.
Standing there was a man holding a sleek leather briefcase, flanked by two plainclothes officers wearing official badges around their necks.
The tiny detail Daniel and his mistress had completely missed wasn’t on him or me—it was on the wrist of the woman hanging onto his arm, and in the leather bag slung over his own shoulder.
“Daniel Vance?” the man in the suit asked, pulling a laminated badge from his jacket. “I’m Investigator Miller with the Federal Financial Crimes Unit. And I believe the woman on your arm is Ms. Chloe Bennett.”
Daniel’s smug expression began to crack. “What is this? This is a private family matter—”
“It stopped being a private matter three weeks into your luxury cruise,” Investigator Miller said smoothly, gesturing to the plainclothes officers. “Ms. Bennett, you are under arrest for grand larceny, corporate embezzlement, and wire fraud involving over $400,000 missing from Vance Logistics.”
