Chapter 10 - Daniel’s Last MoveDaniel Reeves went to trial nine months after Ellie made the wrong phone call.
That was what made Hannah sick.
When she had moved into apartment 3B, he reduced the security deposit.
When Noah had a fever, he recommended a pediatric clinic.
When child services appeared, Mr. Collins stood in the hallway shaking his head sympathetically.
“You poor thing.”
He had known.
Worse, he had helped.
Daniel paid him twelve thousand dollars over seven months.
In exchange, Mr. Collins allowed Daniel and Melissa access to Hannah’s apartment.
He delayed changing the locks.
He provided copies of maintenance schedules.
He told Daniel when Hannah left for work.
He even helped install the hidden cameras.
Hannah read the police report twice.
Then put it down.
“I don’t trust anybody anymore.”
Grant sat across from her.
“You trusted him because he gave you reasons to.”
“And they were fake.”
“That’s his failure.”
“What if I keep choosing wrong?”
“You chose Ellie and Noah.”
She looked up.
“You chose to leave Daniel.”
Silence.
“You chose Evelyn.”
Another pause.
“You chose Mrs. Alvarez.”
Hannah smiled faintly.
“And apparently you chose a random billionaire who can’t mind his own business.”
“That one remains under review.”
She laughed.
Grant smiled.
It was the first time she had laughed since learning about Mr. Collins.
The landlord’s arrest solved another mystery.
He admitted Daniel had entered Hannah’s apartment the morning she collapsed.
Daniel claimed he only wanted to “talk.”
Mr. Collins did not see him leave.
Thirty minutes later, Melissa entered.
That timeline strengthened the poisoning case.
Prosecutors filed additional charges.
Daniel’s attorneys began discussing a plea.
Daniel refused.
“He thinks he can win,” Evelyn explained.
“How?” Hannah asked.
“By attacking everyone.”
“That worked before.”
“Before there were records.”
Hannah returned to work.
Ordinary life became therapeutic.
Invoices did not manipulate.
Spreadsheets did not threaten custody.
Numbers were numbers.
Mrs. Alvarez treated Hannah like an employee, not a tragedy.
When Hannah arrived seven minutes late one morning, Mrs. Alvarez pointed at the clock.
“You’re seven minutes late.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your celebrity billionaire boyfriend doesn’t own traffic?”
Hannah nearly choked.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
Mrs. Alvarez shrugged.
“Then somebody should tell the internet.”
The photograph had appeared two days earlier.
Hannah and Grant leaving court.
His hand resting lightly against her back.
Online headlines turned it into a romance.
MILLIONAIRE ABANDONS $8M DEAL FOR SINGLE MOM—NOW THEY’RE IN LOVE?
Hannah hated it.
Grant found it hilarious.
“Apparently I’m secretly buying you a villa in Italy.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
“Cheap.”
“I offered electricity.”
She threw a napkin at him.
Their relationship existed in a strange middle space.
More than friendship.
Less than romance.
Grant kept his promise.
He never pushed.
Hannah eventually moved out of the guesthouse.
Not because she wanted distance.
Because she needed proof—mostly for herself—that she could create her own home.
She rented a small three-bedroom townhouse near her new job.
Grant visited the first evening.
He carried pizza.
Nothing else.
Hannah opened the door suspiciously.
“No furniture?”
“You told me not to buy anything.”
“No surprise security system?”
“Already installed.”
She stared.
Grant raised both hands.
“Evelyn approved it.”
“Traitor.”
Ellie ran past her.
“Mister Grant!”
Noah followed.
They crashed into Grant’s legs.
He nearly dropped the pizza.
“Excellent welcome.”
Hannah watched him with the children.
Her fear changed shape.
At first she had feared depending on him.
Now she feared losing him.
After the twins were asleep, they sat on Hannah’s tiny back porch.
“You know,” she said, “my whole house could fit in your kitchen.”
“Efficient.”
“I like it.”
“So do I.”
Hannah looked at him.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you chose it.”
She swallowed.
“Grant.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you still think I might only want you because you answered the phone?”
He became quiet.
“No.”
“What changed?”
“You did.”
She smiled.
“So are you going to kiss me now?”
Grant leaned closer.
“I need clarification from counsel.”
Hannah grabbed his shirt and kissed him.
This time, he kissed her back.
Slowly.
Carefully.
No rescue.
No debt.
A choice.
When they pulled apart, Grant rested his forehead against hers.
“I’ve wanted to do that for weeks.”
“You’re very stubborn.”
“You’re worse.”
They smiled.
Then Hannah’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Both froze.
The joy vanished instantly.
Hannah stared at the screen.
Grant reached for his phone.
“Don’t answer.”
But Hannah did.
“Hello?”
A woman spoke.
“Mrs. Dawson?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Catherine Reeves.”
Hannah’s face changed.
Grant noticed.
Daniel’s mother.
Hannah had not heard from her in almost a year.
“I need to see you.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Hannah, Daniel told me something.”
“What?”
“He said if he goes to prison, he has insurance.”
Hannah’s stomach tightened.
“What insurance?”
“I don’t know.”
“He said you’ll lose the children anyway.”
Grant’s expression hardened.
Catherine continued.
“And then he told me where to find a key.”
The following morning, Catherine Reeves met Hannah, Grant, Evelyn, and police at a bank.
Daniel maintained a private safe-deposit box.
The key opened it.
Inside were copies of forged psychiatric records.
Cash.
Passports.
And one envelope labeled:
IF HANNAH WINS.
Evelyn opened it.
Inside was a signed statement accusing Hannah of physically abusing Ellie.
It included photographs.
Hannah looked at them and gasped.
Ellie had bruises on her arms.
Grant recognized the date immediately.
Playground accident.
Daniel had photographed his injured daughter and planned to present the pictures as evidence against Hannah.
But investigators found something else inside the envelope.
Instructions to Melissa.
Dates.
Talking points.
And payment amounts.
Daniel’s final weapon did not destroy Hannah.
It proved the entire campaign had been planned.
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For the first time, prosecutors were no longer asking whether Daniel would be convicted.
They were asking how many years he would serve.
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