Chapter 17 - My Daughter Was the Target
The trust had one provision Daniel never understood correctly.
If I died after my daughter was born, most assets would pass directly into a protected trust for her.
Daniel assumed that as her father, he would control it.
He was wrong.
My grandmother had anticipated that possibility.
A separate independent trustee would control everything until my daughter turned thirty.
Daniel would receive nothing.
Patricia had eventually discovered the clause.
That was why the timeline changed.
They no longer needed me dead.
They needed me legally incapacitated.
If they could establish me as incompetent while Daniel remained the apparent lawful spouse and father, they planned to challenge the independent trustee.
The plan was risky.
But millions of dollars made them confident.
What they never expected was Rebecca.
Daniel’s existing marriage destroyed the foundation of his spousal claim.
What they never expected was the recordings.
What they never expected was my father eventually admitting the signature was not witnessed.
And what they never expected most was that I would survive the hole without giving them a single sentence that sounded like consent.
My silence had protected me.
Weeks earlier, Daniel had interpreted it as surrender.
Now prosecutors interpreted it as evidence.
His plea offer collapsed when investigators discovered he had minimized his role.
He had personally ordered the investigator.
Personally paid Eric.
Personally forged several signatures.
Personally instructed Sloan.
Patricia may have encouraged him.
Daniel still chose every step.
The prosecutor prepared for trial.
Then, two weeks before jury selection, my daughter decided she was finished waiting.
My contractions started at 2:11 in the morning.
Hannah drove me to the hospital while I laughed and cried at the same time.
Dr. Barnes met us upstairs.
Nine hours later, a nurse placed my daughter against my chest.
She weighed six pounds, one ounce.
Small.
Furious.
Perfect.
I named her Eleanor Grace Avery.
Eleanor after my grandmother.
Grace because somehow we had reached that room together.
When she wrapped her fingers around mine, every courtroom suddenly seemed less important.
Daniel requested permission through his attorney to receive a photograph.
I said no.
He requested updates.
No.
He requested paternity access.
Hannah responded with the pending criminal charges, protective order, unresolved legal marriage, and an immediate custody petition.
The court granted me temporary sole custody.
Daniel received nothing.
Three days after Eleanor was born, I received a letter from him.
I almost threw it away.
Then I noticed something beneath his signature.
A set of numbers.
Coordinates.
I recognized the general area.
The hunting cabin.
May you like
Below them, Daniel had written one sentence.
ASK WHAT MY MOTHER BURIED THERE.
