The judge instructed Grace to proceed.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter written on yellowed paper, a carbon copy of a bank transfer, and a document bearing Victor’s signature.
Grace handed the letter to the judge.
He read it silently.
Then he read it again.
Finally, he looked at Victor.
“Mr. Hale, did you instruct your accountant to remove your wife’s name from the business records following the kitchen fire?”
Victor’s face had lost all color.
“No.”
Grace produced the second document.
It was dated three months after the fire.
The letter contained explicit instructions to restructure the business, transfer its ownership to a newly formed company, and remove my name from the official records.
At the bottom was Victor’s signature.
But that was not the most shocking part.
Attached to the letter was a copy of a private insurance report.
The report revealed that the fire had not started because of my negligence, as Victor had claimed.
