When she gave it to me, she had held my hands and said, “Never let anyone convince you that love means giving up your right to protect yourself.”
At the time, I thought she was simply offering motherly advice.
Now her words felt like a warning I had failed to understand.
The next morning, I called Rachel Morgan.
Rachel had worked as Sean’s executive assistant for six years. We weren’t close friends, but we had always been polite to one another. She had left his company several months earlier after what Sean described as a disagreement over office procedures.
I remembered how uncomfortable she had looked the last time I saw her.
“Vanessa?” she answered cautiously.
“I need to ask you something about Sean’s business.”
She was quiet.
“What happened?”
I told her about the loan application and the partner-swap proposal. I didn’t accuse Sean of anything. I simply explained what I had discovered and asked whether she knew of any financial arrangements involving my name.
