The email changed the direction of the investigation.
Until that moment, I had believed Marcus was the central figure. He had intercepted Claire's calls, presented the false attorney email, and appeared repeatedly in the financial records. Eleanor's involvement was still uncertain, and the identity of the person behind the anonymous messages remained unknown.
Now we had evidence that someone else had participated in the separation.
Natalie asked David to preserve the email and trace its origin. The external address belonged to a temporary account hosted by a service that no longer retained ordinary user records. However, the message headers contained technical information that could help identify the device and network used to send it.
David found that the account had been accessed from several locations, including a private office associated with a company that had received Harbor Point consulting payments.
The company was registered to an investment partnership connected to Eleanor's family.
I stared at the report.
"Can we identify the person who sent the reply?"
"Not conclusively," David said. "But the account was accessed from a workstation assigned to a senior administrative assistant at the partnership."
"Who is that?"
"Someone named Patricia Moore."
The name meant nothing to me.
Natalie contacted the partnership's legal representatives and requested an interview. They refused to cooperate voluntarily, citing confidentiality obligations and the ongoing investigation.
The refusal was not proof of wrongdoing, but it made the situation more difficult.
I asked the general counsel to consult outside investigators about the proper legal process for obtaining the relevant records.
Meanwhile, the board had begun to fracture.
Two directors wanted Marcus dismissed immediately. Another argued that the company should wait until the financial review was complete. Eleanor insisted that the board avoid making decisions based on incomplete evidence.
I understood the argument.
I also knew that every additional day gave people time to coordinate their stories or move information beyond our reach.
At noon, I called Eleanor.
"I need you to explain your connection to the settlement entity."
Her voice was cool.
"That is a matter for the investigators."
"Your family investment partnership received funds from an account connected to Harbor Point."
"I have already provided the board with the information I possess."
"Then why did the external email account send a message saying the records needed to be secured before Claire could reach me?"
There was a long silence.
"Julian, I don't know what you're talking about."
"The account was accessed from a workstation associated with your family's partnership."
"That doesn't establish that I sent anything."
"No. It doesn't."
I waited.
She said nothing more.
Finally, I told her that the investigators would be contacting her formally and ended the call.
That afternoon, I went to the hospital. Claire was sitting with Leo in a chair beside the window. His breathing support had been reduced again, and the nurses were pleased with his progress.
She looked up when I entered.
"You're tense."
I sat beside her.
"We found an email showing that someone outside the company knew Marcus was keeping us separated."
Her expression changed.
"Who?"
"We're still identifying the sender. The account was accessed through a company connected to Eleanor's family investment partnership."
Claire's fingers tightened around the blanket.
"Then she may have known."
"Possibly."
She looked down at Leo.
"Julian, do you remember the week I left?"
"Yes."
"Marcus called me the night before. He said you were preparing to sign an important agreement and that I shouldn't interfere."
I leaned forward.
"What agreement?"
"I don't remember the exact name. He said it involved a new investment structure. He also told me that if I contacted you again, I might make things worse for you."
I thought of the planned restructuring.
"Did he say anything about the financial records?"
"He said they were being reviewed and that I should stop making accusations."
I felt anger rise.
"He knew you were right."
Claire didn't answer.
I sat quietly for a moment, then asked whether she remembered the external person who had contacted her after the separation.
She shook her head.
"No. But there was one strange incident."
"What?"
"About a month after I moved out, someone came to Emily's apartment asking for me. He said he represented a company that wanted to discuss the Harbor Point documents."
I stared at her.
"Did you meet him?"
"No. Emily told him I wasn't available. He left a business card, but she threw it away because she thought it was a sales visit."
"Do you remember the company name?"
"Something with the word 'North' in it. I can't remember more than that."
I wrote the detail down and sent it to Natalie.
The investigators later identified several companies with similar names, including one that had received payments through the same intermediary network. They couldn't establish whether the visitor had been connected to the scheme, but the possibility was serious enough to warrant further inquiry.
By late afternoon, David had completed a deeper review of the email account.
He found that the external address had received several attachments from Marcus. Most were ordinary business documents, but one contained a scanned copy of the false attorney email.
The attachment had been sent two days before Marcus showed it to me.
The recipient had replied:
Make sure he believes it came from her side. Once the separation is final, the rest should be easier.
I felt cold.
This was no longer a vague indication that someone knew about the separation. It was evidence that the false email had been discussed in advance with another person.
I called Natalie immediately.
She asked David to preserve the full message chain and provide the technical report. The general counsel then contacted the appropriate authorities to discuss the evidence and the possibility of obtaining additional records.
For the first time, I began to believe we could establish not only what had happened but why.
That evening, the board convened another emergency meeting.
Natalie presented the new communications evidence. She explained that the messages appeared to show coordination between Marcus and an external party regarding the separation and the handling of Claire's documents.
The directors listened in silence.
Eleanor looked pale.
When the presentation ended, she asked whether the investigators could establish who had written the external messages.
"Not yet," Natalie replied. "But we have identified a narrow group of people with access to the account."
Eleanor folded her hands.
"Then I suggest we wait until the facts are verified."
The board agreed to expand the investigation and authorize a formal review of the family partnership's connection to Harbor Point. Marcus's temporary suspension was extended, and the company prepared to refer the matter to regulators if the evidence supported a formal complaint.
After the meeting, Eleanor approached me.
"Julian, I want you to understand that I never intended to harm your family."
I looked at her.
"Did you know Claire was pregnant?"
She hesitated.
"No."
"Did you know Marcus was intercepting her calls?"
"No."
"Then why did someone in your family's partnership help him fabricate the divorce email?"
Her face tightened.
"I don't know."
For a moment, I believed she might say more.
Instead, she walked away.
I returned to the hospital feeling more exhausted than angry. Claire was asleep when I arrived, so I sat beside her bed and watched the light from the monitor move across the wall.
A nurse entered quietly to check her medication. When she left, Claire opened her eyes.
"You're back."
"Yes."
She studied my face.
"Did you find out who sent the messages?"
"Not yet."
She looked toward the window.
"I used to think the worst part of our divorce was that you stopped loving me."
I felt the words settle heavily between us.
"Claire—"
"Now I don't know what to think. I know you were manipulated. I know Marcus lied. But I also know you didn't fight very hard to hear my side."
I looked down.
"You're right."
She turned toward me.
"I don't want you to apologize every time we talk. I want you to understand what happened and make sure it never happens again."
I reached for her hand.
"I will."
She let me hold it.
For a few moments, the room was quiet.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from Natalie appeared.
We have identified the external account holder. The name is Patricia Moore. She worked directly for Eleanor Shaw's family partnership and handled several Harbor Point-related transactions. She has agreed to an interview tomorrow.
I read the message twice.
Patricia Moore.
The name from David's report.
I looked at Claire.
"We may finally know who helped Marcus."
Her expression sharpened.
"Then ask her why."
I nodded.
Because that was the question that mattered most.
Why had someone gone to such lengths to separate a husband from his pregnant wife? Why had they hidden the financial records? And what had they feared would happen if Claire and I had remained able to speak openly?
The answers were waiting in the interview room the following morning.
Click here to continue reading: PART 12: The Truth About My Son’s Birth, the Betrayal That Ended an Eleven-Year Partnership, and the Family I Nearly Lost
A Phone Call That Shattered a Billion-Dollar Deal and Exposed a Past I Thought Was Settled
Part 11 of 12
