Chapter 14 - Unearthing the Secrets
That evening, Sarah Vance called Joanna with urgent news regarding the encrypted USB drive.
"Joanna, you need to come to my office right away," Sarah said, her tone serious. "Our forensic team unlocked the second layer of encryption on that drive. What's on here goes way beyond a high-conflict divorce."
An hour later, Joanna sat in Sarah’s office alongside a private investigator named Marcus, a retired federal agent with grey hair and a calm, methodical demeanor.
"Your ex-husband and his mother aren't just wealthy socialites, Joanna," Marcus explained, pointing to a series of bank statements and documents displayed on a large monitor. "Meredith’s family foundation, the Vance-Montgomery Trust, has been laundering money through real estate developments in South Carolina and Georgia for over a decade."
Joanna stared at the screen. "Laundering money? For whom?"
"Offshore entities connected to illegal shell corporations," Marcus said. "And Derek wasn't just a passive beneficiary. He was actively managing the fraudulent transfers. But that’s not all."
Marcus pulled up a folder containing medical records and sworn affidavits from six years ago.
"Before Derek married you, he was engaged to a woman named Claire Higgins," Marcus continued softly. "Claire was from a wealthy family in Atlanta. She died six years ago—officially ruled an accidental drowning at the Montgomery family’s coastal estate in Hilton Head."
Joanna felt her breath catch in her throat. "Claire... Derek mentioned her once. He said she died in a boat accident."
"The police report says she fell off the dock during a storm," Marcus said, laying a photo of a young, blonde woman on the table. "But look at the medical examiner's notes that were buried in the file. Claire had blunt force trauma to the back of her head prior to entering the water. The investigation was shut down three days later after Meredith made a massive donation to the local prosecutor’s reelection campaign."
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Joanna covered her mouth, terror cold as ice running through her veins. "He killed her... and Meredith covered it up."
"And when you started asking questions about finances last year," Sarah added, "Derek realized you were becoming a liability, just like Claire was. The fall down the stairs wasn't an accident or an outburst of temper, Joanna. It was an attempted murder."
