“Her handwriting,” I repeated. “Bianca made her write it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because Ava doesn’t know Bianca is my sister. We never told her about the family connection.” I closed my eyes, thinking. “Which means Bianca told her. Recently. Probably tonight.”
“Why would she do that?”
“To turn Ava against us. Make her think we’ve been lying to her. Again.” The implications hit me like a physical blow. “Oh god. Bianca’s been planning this for months. Maybe years.”
Damon sank onto the couch, his head in his hands. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t brought Ava to your office, if I hadn’t—”
“Stop.” I sat beside him, careful not to touch but close enough to be heard. “Blame won’t save her. But information might. I need you to tell me everything about your relationship with Bianca. Every conversation, every fight, every time she mentioned me or Ava.”
“I don’t understand what you’re—”
“Did she ever ask about my business? My security protocols? Ava’s school schedule?”
His face went pale. “She… yeah. She was always interested in Ava’s routine. Said she wanted to be a good mother. And she asked about you sometimes. Your company, your success.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing important. Just… that you’d built some tech empire, that you were worth billions now.”
“Did she ever access your computer? Your phone?”
“Sometimes. She knew my passwords. We lived together for two years, Elise. Of course she—” He stopped, understanding dawning in his eyes. “You think she was gathering information.”
“I think Bianca has been playing a much longer game than any of us realized.” I pulled out my phone. “Marcus? I need you to run a complete background check on Bianca Reeves. Financial records, travel history, associations—everything. And I need it in two hours.”
“Ma’am, it’s almost 2 AM—”
