My Son Is In The Icu After A Horrific Accident. I Just Found His Wife’s “mental Health Day” Photo On A Yacht With His Partner. How Do I Destroy Them?

I closed my eyes. They’d planned this.

Maybe not the accident itself, but they’d been positioning themselves to profit from Daniel’s vulnerability.

“There’s one more thing,” Marcus said.

“I pulled the police report from the accident. Daniel’s brake line was severed. The investigating officer noted it was consistent with corrosion, but it was a clean cut. Your son’s car is only 2 years old. That kind of corrosion doesn’t happen that fast.”

“Are you saying—” I began.

“I’m saying someone might have tampered with his brakes. Lauren had access to his car. She borrowed it 3 days ago to pick up restaurant supplies. Daniel mentioned it on Facebook,” he told me.

My hands weren’t shaking anymore. They were steady.

Twenty-eight years as a federal prosecutor had taught me how to channel rage into strategy.

“Send me everything,” I said.

“Every document, every photo, every record. I want it all in my email in the next hour.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I’m going to do what I’ve always done,” I said.

“I’m going to build a case.”

Evidence Bricks

I walked back into Daniel’s room. He was still sleeping.

I sat down and opened my laptop. For the next two hours, I read through everything Marcus sent me.

Bank records showing the transferred funds, hotel receipts, text messages between Lauren and Marcus discussing finally being free and starting fresh. There was a text from three weeks ago.

“What if something happened to Daniel? Would we finally be together?” Lauren wrote.

“Don’t say things like that,” Marcus replied.

“I’m serious. The insurance alone would set us up, and with you running the restaurant without him questioning every decision—” Lauren had said.

“We’d be able to expand like we planned, open the second location, maybe even franchise,” Marcus said.

“Exactly. We just need him out of the way,” Lauren replied.

I took a screenshot of every message. At midnight, my phone rang.

It was David Chen, my former law partner. He was the best trial attorney in Boston.

“I hear you need a lawyer in Florida,” he said.

“I need a killer,” I said.

“Someone who can file an emergency injunction by tomorrow morning.”

“What are we filing?” he asked.

“I want Lauren Sterling removed as Daniel’s spouse and medical proxy. I want a temporary restraining order keeping her and Marcus Rivera away from him. And I want a forensic audit of their restaurant business started immediately,” I explained.

“On what grounds?” he questioned.

“Attempted fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, and possible attempted murder,” I replied.

There was a long pause.

“Jesus, Richard,” he breathed.

“I’m sending you everything now. I need this filed before Daniel wakes up tomorrow, before the surgery,” I told him.

“I’ll have it done,” David said.

“But Richard, you know this is going to get ugly.”

“It already is ugly,” I said.

“I’m just making sure everyone can see it.”

At 6:00 the next morning, I was sitting in Daniel’s room when my phone buzzed. David had sent a message.

Injunction granted. TRO approved.

Lauren Sterling has been served. She’s on her way to the hospital now.

I stood up and walked to the door. Down the hallway, I could see Lauren stepping off the elevator.

She was wearing different clothes than in the Instagram photo, but her hair was still damp. Behind her was Marcus.

They stopped when they saw the police officer standing outside Daniel’s room.

The Hallway Showdown

I stepped into the hallway. Lauren saw me and her face went pale.

“Richard,” she said.

“What’s going on?”

“You’ve been served with a temporary restraining order,” I said.

“You’re no longer permitted to make medical decisions for my son. You’re also being investigated for insurance fraud and conspiracy.”

Marcus started to say something, but I held up my hand.

“I have bank records showing you’ve stolen $200,000 from the restaurant,” I said.

“I have text messages discussing plans to profit from Daniel’s injury. I have hotel receipts proving your affair. And I have a police report that shows Daniel’s brake line was tampered with,” I continued.

Lauren’s eyes went wide.

“I didn’t—” she started.

“We didn’t—” Marcus began.

“Save it,” I said.

“I was a federal prosecutor for 28 years. I’ve heard every excuse, I’ve seen every scam, and I know exactly what you are.”

The police officer stepped forward.

“Ma’am, you need to leave the premises. If you refuse, you’ll be arrested for violating the restraining order,” he told her.

Lauren looked at Marcus. He looked away.

“This isn’t over,” Lauren said to me.

“Yes,” I said quietly.

“It is.”

I watched them walk back to the elevator. Marcus didn’t look back, but Lauren turned once.

Her face was a mixture of rage and fear. When the elevator doors closed, I went back into Daniel’s room.

He was awake.

“Dad,” he said groggily.

“What’s happening?”

I sat down next to him and took his hand.

“I need to tell you something,” I said.

“And it’s going to hurt, but I need you to know that you’re safe now.”