Chapter 5 β The Husband Who Knew Nothing
By sunrise, every major news station carried the same headline:
Billionaire's Wife Investigated in Suspected Poison Plot at Charity Gala.
Daniel Mercer sat alone in his penthouse, staring at the endless television coverage without hearing a word.
His marriage suddenly felt like someone else's life.
Ryan arrived just after eight.
"I need to ask you some difficult questions."
Daniel nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Did your wife have a financial motive?"
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
"If she wanted money, she already had plenty."
Ryan slid a folder across the table.
"Actually..."
Inside were copies of insurance policies.
Business agreements.
Trust documents.
Daniel's expression slowly changed.
"What is this?"
"You recently changed your will."
Daniel blinked.
"I signed new estate papers three weeks ago."
Ryan nodded.
"You did."
He turned another page.
"If you died yesterday..."
Victoria Mercer would inherit nearly four hundred million dollars.
Daniel felt sick.
"I never read the final draft."
Ryan looked directly at him.
"You signed electronically while overseas."
Daniel suddenly remembered.
A business trip to Singapore.
Hundreds of documents waiting in his inbox.
His financial advisor had told him everything was routine.
He had trusted him completely.
Ryan spoke carefully.
"We're now investigating whether someone altered those documents before they reached you."
Daniel leaned back in silence.
This wasn't simply a murder attempt.
Someone had been planning his death for weeks.
Maybe months.
Across the city, Emily left the hospital with fourteen stitches above her eyebrow.
She expected to return to her tiny apartment and forget the nightmare.
Instead, she found a black SUV waiting outside.
A man in sunglasses stepped out.
"Miss Carter?"
She froze.
May you like
"Mr. Mercer would like to speak with you."
Emily's first instinct was to run.
