Chapter 9 - The Recording
Police reached Ethan's house within minutes.
Bianca was gone again.
Sophie was safe.
The crash had been a lamp hitting the floor when Bianca grabbed Ethan's phone and ran.
But Sophie had something far more important.
A recording.
She had been filming a dance video in the living room when Bianca walked into the kitchen.
The phone kept recording.
Bianca's voice could be heard clearly.
"I told you, once the wedding was done, the kid was going to Vermont."
A man's voice responded over speakerphone.
"That doesn't solve the trust."
"It gives me time."
"What about Balboa?"
"He signs anything if he's rushing."
Robert sat in Daniel's office listening.
His hands were perfectly still.
That frightened Rosalie more than anger would have.
The unidentified man continued.
"And if he doesn't?"
Bianca laughed.
"He will."
Then came the sentence that changed the investigation.
"Once I'm his wife, I don't need forever. I need access for six months."
Daniel paused the recording.
Robert looked at him.
"Who is the man?"
"We're working on it."
They listened further.
Bianca mentioned an account number.
A trust amendment.
The Connecticut property.
And finally:
"After I move enough out, Ethan gets blamed. He's already connected to the house."
Rosalie stared.
"She was setting up her ex-husband."
Daniel nodded.
Robert's expression hardened.
"And using the money to make it look like he stole it."
Exactly.
Bianca had sent money into Sophie's accounts and purchased property through Ethan's company.
If investigators eventually noticed missing money from Robert's estate, Ethan would appear connected to the transfers.
Bianca had built herself an exit.
And a scapegoat.
The recording continued.
Then Bianca said:
"Rosalie is the problem."
Robert's head snapped up.
"She keeps watching me."
The man replied.
"Then get her out too."
Bianca laughed softly.
"After the wedding."
Robert stopped the audio.
No one spoke.
Rosalie slowly sat down.
Robert looked at his mother.
"She was planning something for you."
"I know."
"Why aren't you surprised?"
Rosalie looked toward the window.
"Because last month, my blood-pressure medication disappeared."
Robert went still.
"What?"
"I found it two days later in another cabinet."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought I'd misplaced it."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Any other incidents?"
Rosalie hesitated.
"Bianca kept asking when I planned to move back to my own house."
Robert stood.
"That's it."
He called the detective assigned to the case.
When he finished, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked directly at Robert.
"We identified the man on the recording."
Robert waited.
Daniel's face was grim.
"His name is Adrian Vale."
Robert didn't recognize it.
Daniel did.
"He's a financial adviser."
"So?"
"He worked for your father."
Robert stared.
Daniel continued.
"He was fired twelve years ago for attempting to divert client funds."
Rosalie's face changed.
"I remember him."
Robert turned.
"How does Bianca know him?"
Daniel opened a file.
"That is the part you're not going to like."
He slid over an old photograph.
A charity gala.
Twelve years earlier.
Adrian Vale stood in the background.
Beside him was a young woman.
Dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
May you like
Bianca.
👉 Bianca hadn't stumbled onto the Balboa fortune after meeting Robert—she had known about his family's money years before he ever knew her name.
