Chapter 5 - THE POLICY
I stared at the insurance document.
My first thought was impossible.
My second was worse.
“How much?”
Agent Cole answered.
“Five million dollars.”
I shook my head.
“I never approved that.”
“You didn’t.”
“Can one parent do that?”
“Under certain circumstances, depending on the policy structure and disclosed interest.”
My stomach turned.
David had purchased the policy eleven months earlier.
He was the primary beneficiary.
I was not listed.
“What was the reason?”
Cole showed me the application.
David claimed the policy was part of estate planning.
He had also certified that Lily’s health information had been disclosed accurately.
The investigators were still reviewing that.
I felt physically sick.
“Are you saying David wanted her to die?”
“No.”
Cole’s answer came immediately.
“We have no evidence of that.”
I appreciated the certainty.
I needed facts.
Not monsters invented by grief.
“What we do have,” he continued, “is evidence that he secretly insured her while diverting money from her trust.”
That was terrible enough.
Then he showed me another email.
David had sent it to his private financial adviser three months earlier.
If anything happens with Lily, how quickly does the policy pay?
The adviser replied.
Depends on circumstances and documentation.
David responded.
Understood.
I closed my eyes.
Cole leaned forward.
“Maya, I need you not to jump ahead of the evidence.”
“I’m trying.”
But my hands were shaking.
That evening, David called from detention.
I almost declined.
Then I answered.
Neither of us spoke at first.
Finally he said, “I know how the policy looks.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You always know how things look.”
“Maya, I loved Lily.”
“Then why didn’t you answer?”
Silence.
“I thought you were trying to ruin my trip.”
“Our daughter was dying.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You chose not to know.”
He exhaled.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“No, David.”
I stared at Lily’s photograph.
“A mistake is forgetting an appointment.”
He began crying.
It was the first time I had heard him cry since his arrest.
“I want to see her grave.”
My throat tightened.
“You will.”
“Please.”
“When the court allows it.”
“Maya.”
“What?”
“Read me her letter.”
I looked toward the envelope lying unopened on my desk.
“I haven’t opened it.”
“Why?”
“Because it belongs to you.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then David whispered, “I don’t deserve it.”
“No.”
I agreed.
“You don’t.”
Before I could hang up, he said something that stopped me.
“Maya, Julianne didn’t know where the money came from.”
I frowned.
“Why are you protecting her?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re in federal detention, your daughter is dead, and you’re worried about Julianne.”
His next words were almost inaudible.
May you like
“Because she has something that can destroy me.”
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