LOGINDaniel's Pov
The precinct's records department took two days to locate the original file.
"Sealed," the clerk said, sliding a printout across the counter. "You'll need a court order or written consent from all involved parties to access the full report."
I got the court order within forty-eight hours. Money moved fast when it needed to.
Rosa sat beside me in my office when the unsea
Daniel's PovThe precinct's records department took two days to locate the original file."Sealed," the clerk said, sliding a printout across the counter. "You'll need a court order or written consent from all involved parties to access the full report."I got the court order within forty-eight hours. Money moved fast when it needed to.Rosa sat beside me in my office when the unsealed report finally arrived, both of us silent as I opened the file for the first time in years."There." Rosa pointed to a line halfway down the second page. "Blood alcohol content, point one six.""Twice the legal limit.""Recorded at the scene, before anyone had a chance to alter anything." She kept reading, her finger tracing down the page. "This is Johansson's actual toxicology result, Daniel. Not yours."I s
Rosa's PovI sat down slowly on the edge of the bed beside him, my mind still catching up to what he'd just told me."You took a criminal record for her," I said quietly. "To protect her family's political career. Because your father asked you to.""Yes.""And she's been threatening you with the truth ever since, the truth that would actually clear you.""Yes.""That's insane, Daniel." My voice came out shaky. "You've been living under a lie for years, carrying blame that isn't even yours, and the one person who could clear your name has been using that same truth as a weapon against you instead.""That's exactly what she's been doing."I reached for his hand, threading my fingers through his despite everything we'd fought about hours earlier."I'm not angry at you," I
Daniel's PovI found her sitting on the guest room bed when I got home, a folder open beside her, her face pale in a way that stopped me in the doorway."Rosa.""I know about Robbie." Her voice came out flat, exhausted. "The photos. The money Johansson paid her. All of it.""I suspected as much when the tabloids started.""You suspected." She looked up at me. "You suspected my own stepsister was selling information about me and you didn't tell me.""I didn't have proof until the security firm confirmed it." I crossed the room, sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "I was building the case before I brought it to you.""That's what you always do. Build the case privately before deciding what I'm allowed to know."I didn't argue that point, because after tonight's fight, I understood exactly h
Rosa's Pov"You took a criminal record for her," I said quietly. "To protect her family's political career. Because your father asked you to.""Yes.""That's insane, Daniel." My voice came out shaky. "You've been living under a lie for years, carrying blame that isn't even yours, and the one person who could clear your name has been using that same truth as a weapon against you instead.""That's exactly what she's been doing."I reached for his hand, threading my fingers through his despite everything we'd fought about hours earlier."I'm not angry at you," I said. "I need you to understand that. I'm furious at your father for asking this of you, and I'm furious at Johansson for turning your own innocence into a weapon. But I'm not angry at you.""You should be. I've been hiding this from you since the moment we met."
Daniel's PovI found her sitting on the guest room bed when I got home, a folder open beside her, her face pale in a way that stopped me in the doorway."Rosa.""I know about Robbie." Her voice came out flat, exhausted. "The photos. The money Johansson paid her. All of it.""I suspected as much when the tabloids started.""You suspected." She looked up at me. "You suspected my own stepsister was selling information about me and you didn't tell me.""I didn't have proof until the security firm confirmed it." I crossed the room, sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "I was building the case before I brought it to you.""That's what you always do. Build the case privately before deciding what I'm allowed to know."I didn't argue that point, because after tonight's fight, I understood exactly h
Rosa's PovThe first page was a summary, dated three weeks earlier, prepared by a private security firm whose letterhead I didn't recognize.Subject: Robbie Madison. Financial and communication analysis per client request.I kept reading.Financial records showed Robbie deeply in debt, credit cards maxed across four different accounts, a car repossessed two months ago that she'd apparently kept hidden from everyone in the family. Beneath the financial summary sat a series of timestamped communications, phone records showing calls between Robbie's number and a number the report identified as belonging to Johansson Theron.The calls started the week after my wedding to Marcus collapsed.My hands started shaking as I turned the pages.Text message transcripts followed, subpoenaed or hacked or however this firm had







