Chapter 4
"First, we need to confirm that you can legally do that without compromising any pending claims. We're not going to rush into anything, Elena."
And that was how it all began.
What Daniel interpreted as my obedient silence was actually a month filled with meetings, investigations, and decisions.
The sale was completed after the property's legal status had been verified and all relevant requirements had been addressed.
The proceeds were properly documented and remained available for any adjustments that might be required during the legal proceedings.
I wasn't running away with someone else's fortune.
I was leaving a house I no longer wanted to call home.
And preparing the evidence Daniel had never imagined I would discover.
## Vanessa Discovered She Didn't Really Know the Man She Was Living With Either
When Daniel returned to Vanessa's apartment that evening, he didn't receive the comfort he expected.
She was sitting on the couch with her arms crossed.
"Explain what's going on."
"Elena has lost her mind."
"You already said that. I want to know how she was able to sell a property that supposedly belonged to you."
Daniel dropped his suitcase by the door.
"I temporarily put it in her name."
"Why?"
"Financial reasons."
Vanessa narrowed her eyes.
"What financial reasons?"
Daniel took off his jacket.
"Don't start interrogating me."
"Daniel, you've been telling me for months that you're sorting out your separation. You promised me that once you went back to that house, you'd talk to Elena, and then we could finally be together officially."
"And that's exactly what I was going to do."
Vanessa let out an incredulous laugh.
"You were going to move back in with your wife?"
"I just needed some time to sort a few things out."
"You told me your marriage was over."
He rubbed his forehead.
"It's complicated."
"No, Daniel. What's complicated is that you told me one thing and told her something completely different."
For the first time, Vanessa began to understand that she wasn't the heroine of some romantic love story.
She was a piece in a game Daniel believed he controlled.
That didn't make her innocent.
She knew perfectly well that I existed.
She had sent photographs specifically to hurt me.
She had mocked me in messages I later discovered.
But Daniel had also promised her a future he had never intended to build in the way she imagined.
"What about the Riverside apartment?" Vanessa asked.