Chapter 9 - The Red Folder
Ryker sat beside the twins rather than standing over them.
He kept his voice gentle.
“Owen, what red folder?”
The boy looked toward Vanessa.
She stared back with such cold intensity that Owen stopped breathing normally.
Ryker shifted, blocking his view of her.
“You’re not in trouble.”
Owen touched the teddy bear’s stitched stomach.
“Daddy put papers inside Mr. Bear.”
Vanessa moved before anyone else understood.
She lunged toward Owen.
Marco intercepted her, catching her by the shoulders and moving her back without striking or throwing her.
“Don’t touch me!” she shouted.
The sudden outburst made both children flinch.
Owen dropped the teddy bear.
A seam along its back split open when it hit the carpet.
A small red plastic sleeve slid out.
Nobody spoke.
Owen stared at it.
“I didn’t know it was still there.”
Ryker picked it up carefully.
Inside were photocopied bank records, account numbers, and handwritten notes.
Most of the information meant nothing at first glance.
But one name appeared repeatedly.
V. Cole.
Another appeared beneath it.
A. Pike.
Ryker handed the sleeve to Marco.
“Photograph every page and send it to legal.”
Vanessa stopped struggling.
Her expression emptied.
Not anger.
Not panic.
Calculation.
She knew the records were damaging, but Ryker could tell they were not the whole secret.
“Those papers are fabricated,” she said.
“By Daniel?”
“He was mentally unstable.”
Lily looked up.
“Daddy wasn’t crazy.”
Vanessa’s gaze cut toward her.
“Your father destroyed everything he touched.”
Lily’s lower lip trembled.
Ryker’s voice turned cold.
“Say another word about their father, and this conversation ends.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You still think Daniel was innocent?”
Ryker did not move.
Vanessa leaned forward.
“He signed every transfer. He planned to leave the country. He was going to take the children and let you carry the blame.”
Ryker knew she wanted him unsettled.
Still, one fact bothered him.
Some documents in the red sleeve carried Daniel’s real signature.
Not a digital copy.
His attorney noticed it too.
“Ryker,” she said through the phone, “there may be more to this.”
Vanessa smiled.
May you like
For a moment, she believed she had regained control.
👉 Daniel’s genuine signature seemed to implicate him—until Ryker noticed every signed page shared the same nearly invisible stain.
