My Fiancé Left the Phone Line Open One Day Before Our Wedding, and I Heard Him Tell His Mother He Planned to Take My House, My Savings, and Then Get Rid of Me. So I Changed a Few Details About the Ceremony—and When the Final Wedding Gift Appeared on the Screen, Nathan Learned He Had Never Been the One Running the Con.

“You need to sit down.”

I was already sitting.

“What did you find?”

“The sealed civil case.”

My hands went cold.

“Nicholas Bennett was accused of defrauding two women between 2011 and 2013.”

“Romance fraud?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“About nine hundred thousand combined.”

Ben swore under his breath.

“Why wasn’t he convicted?”

“One woman settled. The other disappeared from the case.”

“What does that mean?”

“She withdrew.”

“Why?”

“Unknown.”

Marcus hesitated.

“But that’s not why I told you to sit down.”

Every muscle in my body tightened.

He continued.

“I found an exhibit list from the Ashford investigation.”

Rebecca looked at me.

Marcus said, “Your sister’s full name appears.”

I stopped breathing.

“Melissa Elaine Walker.”

“Yes.”

“What was she?”

“Outside forensic accountant.”

My fingers dug into the table.

“What did she find?”

“The available filings suggest she traced payments from Ashford Private Capital into shell companies controlled by Linda and Nicholas Bennett.”