Chapter 6 - JULIANNE'S PHONE
Julianne called my attorney the following morning.
She wanted to talk.
My attorney advised against meeting privately.
So we met inside a conference room at the federal building.
Agent Cole sat beside me.
Julianne arrived without makeup.
No designer dress.
No expensive sunglasses.
No David.
She looked twenty-five for the first time.
Young.
Terrified.
And deeply ashamed.
She placed her phone on the table.
“I made copies before they took his devices.”
Cole asked, “Copies of what?”
“Messages.”
She looked at me.
“And recordings.”
My skin went cold.
Julianne twisted her hands together.
“David told me you were separated emotionally.”
I said nothing.
“He said you stayed married for Lily.”
Still nothing.
“He said you controlled him financially.”
That almost made me smile.
David had stolen millions while telling his mistress I controlled the money.
Julianne continued.
“I knew he was married.”
Her voice broke.
“I’m not asking you to forgive that.”
“Good.”
She nodded.
“But I did not know about Lily’s trust.”
Cole leaned forward.
“What are the recordings?”
Julianne unlocked her phone.
“I started recording him because he was making promises about investments.”
She looked embarrassed.
“I wanted proof.”
She pressed play.
David’s voice filled the room.
Relaxed.
Confident.
The voice he used when he thought everyone around him was less intelligent.
Once the divorce is filed, Maya won’t have access to anything important.
Julianne’s recorded voice responded.
What about Lily?
David laughed.
Lily is how I control Maya.
My entire body went still.
The recording continued.
If Maya fights the divorce, I push for custody.
She’ll panic.
She always panics when Lily is involved.
Julianne asked something else.
What if she wins?
David answered.
She won’t.
I have months of messages making her look unstable.
Agent Cole paused the recording.
He looked at me.
I stared at the table.
Months.
Not days.
Months of planning.
Julianne whispered, “There’s another one.”
She pressed play again.
This recording had been made aboard the yacht.
Music played in the background.
David sounded drunk.
Julianne laughed.
Then asked.
Why do you keep checking that account?
David answered.
Because that account paid for paradise, baby.
Julianne asked.
Which account?
David replied.
The one Maya never checks.
A champagne glass clinked.
Then David said six words that changed the investigation.
Dead money should still be useful.
Cole stopped the recording.
Julianne looked at me.
“I thought he meant an old investment account.”
I wanted to hate her.
Part of me did.
But another part understood something.
David had lied differently to both of us.
To me, he was a loyal husband.
To Julianne, he was a trapped husband.
To the bank, he was a responsible trustee.
To the court he planned to tell them I was unstable.
Every person received the version of David that benefited David.
Cole took the phone into evidence.
Then Julianne said, “There’s something else.”
I looked at her.
She swallowed.
May you like
“The night Lily died, David saw your calls.”
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