replacing the money before anyone discovered it.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
The arguments.
The pressure.
The sudden insistence that I change my will.
The hiking trip.
The fifty-million-dollar policy.
He wasn’t simply trying to become rich.
He was trying to erase his crime.
And I was the only person standing between him and freedom.
Ashley lowered her voice.
“He planned to kill you, collect the insurance, and make the missing company money disappear inside the payout.”
I stared at the screen.
“How did you know?”
“Because I helped him.”
The admission hung between us.
“You?”
“I arranged the hiking trip. I made the reservations. I helped him create the story that you wanted a private weekend away.”
She began crying harder.
“But when I realized he actually intended to kill you, I tried to stop him.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You watched him push me.”
Ashley closed her eyes.
“I
