My hands were shaking as I stood frozen outside Nathan’s apartment door. My heart pounding so loud I was sure the entire building could hear it. The words I had just heard through the thin walls made my blood turned to ice, and I pressed my back against the hallway wall, trying to make sense of what Victoria had just said.
“The plan is working perfectly. She has no idea what’s coming.”
Victoria’s voice was cold, calculated, nothing like the warm tone she used around me. I held my breath, straining to hear more.
“After the ceremony, we’ll have access to everything. The timing has to be perfect, Isabella. One mistake and we lose it all.”
Isabella, what was Nathan’s family friend doing here so late? And what plan were they talking about? My mind raced as I tried to piece together the conversation I was overhearing.
“Don’t worry,”
came Isabella’s reply, her voice barely above a whisper. She trusts Nathan completely. The poor girl is so in love, she’d sign anything he put in front of her. They were talking about me. They had to be. But what did they mean about signing things? About access to everything? Let me back up and tell you how I ended up pressed against this door, eavesdropping on what sounded like a conspiracy involving my own fiance. Earlier that evening, I had been buzzing with excitement. Tomorrow was our engagement party, and I wanted to surprise Nathan with his favorite homemade lasagna and garlic bread. We’d been together for 2 years, and he proposed 6 months ago with the most beautiful vintage ring I’d ever seen. I was head over heels in love with this man who made me laugh every day and supported my dreams of starting my own marketing firm. I had spent the entire afternoon cooking, humming wedding songs, and imagining our future together. Nathan and I had talked about having kids, buying a house with a big backyard, maybe getting a golden retriever. Everything felt perfect, like a fairy tale coming true. I decided to surprise him instead of calling first. Nathan had mentioned he might be working late on blueprints for his architecture firm, so I figured I’d bring dinner to him and we could eat together while he worked. It seemed romantic and thoughtful. The drive to his apartment building took 20 minutes, and I spent the whole time smiling, thinking about how lucky I was. Nathan was everything I had ever wanted in a partner. He was kind, funny, ambitious, and he treated me like I was the most important person in his world. His family had been a little cold at first, especially his mother, Victoria. But I figured that was normal. Some mothers are protective of their sons. I parked outside his building and grabbed the warm containers of food from my passenger seat. The elevator ride to the fourth floor felt like it took forever because I was so excited to see the look on his face when I showed up with his favorite meal. But as I walked down the hallway toward apartment 4B, I heard voices coming from inside. That wasn’t unusual. Nathan often had friends over or took work calls in the evening. But something about the tone made me pause. The voices sounded serious, almost secretive. I raised my hand to knock, but then I heard my name.
“Eliza has no idea about the financial situation. She thinks Nathan’s firm is doing well.”
That was definitely Victoria’s voice. But why was she talking about me? And what financial situation? I pressed my ear closer to the door, my heart starting to race.
“The inheritance money will solve everything. $24 million is more than enough to save the business and set us up for life. She’s so naive she’ll never see it coming.”
My inheritance? How did Victoria even know about that? I had never discussed my parents life insurance money with Nathan’s family. In fact, I rarely talked about it with anyone. My parents died in a car accident when I was 19, and the settlement had been sitting in a trust fund ever since. I lived off my own salary and pretended that money didn’t exist because it felt wrong to benefit from my parents’ death.
“And you’re sure Nathan can go through with this?”
