Page 118 of Noel Secrets

His words felt like a gut punch. Someone had already tried to kill her.

And she’d had no idea. Had they tried while David was home? Had his life been in danger too? Panic gripped her as the thought of what might have happened seared through her.

“That’s when he contacted me. My job is to keep you safe until Cooper can identify who made this offer. Or at least to remove it from all the dark sites.”

She looked at him, barely able to catch her breath. “I don’t understand. Who would?—?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” He pushed a pad and pen to her. “We’d like you to make a list of anyone who might want to do you harm. Anyone with a grudge.”

Darby couldn’t even process this information, much less come up with names.

But she didn’t have to. “I can think of only one person. My ex-husband, Brent Foster.” Tears pressed her eyes as she spoke hisname aloud. She fingered the bottle in her hands then moved it aside. “Our divorce was anything but amicable. Ever since, he’s tried to get his hands on money that I was able to freeze him out of.”

“He thinks you stiffed him in the divorce? Did you initiate it?”

“Yes, but I had reason.” She’d struggled over the decision, but his behavior had finally reached her breaking point. “Brent was a good husband and father until he got caught up in gambling, which led to alcohol abuse. He turned our lives upside down to feed his addictions, but I stood by him as long as I could.”

The sheriff gave her a sympathetic nod. “That’s a tough spot to be in. I’ve seen addiction tear up families way too often.”

“When I discovered the other women, I’d had enough. He lost nearly everything we’d built together during our twelve-year marriage. Around the time our divorce became final, I learned my grandmother had died and left me a sizable inheritance.”

“Murder for money,” Agent Walker noted. “Not the first time we’ve seen that.”

“Brent knows about it but he can’t touch it because it’s protected by law, and I never deposited it into our joint account. My lawyers say he’s not entitled to it, I’ve changed my will. If something happens to me, our son, David, will inherit.”

Agent Walker nodded his understanding. “Since your son is a minor, your ex would have access to it as his custodial guardian.”

That was it exactly. “It’s no coincidence that David was gone when this happened. Brent knew he was going to that Christmas camp.”

Anger burned through her. Once, she’d loved Brent with all her heart, but his actions had shattered their relationship. He’d done nothing but blame her instead of facing up to his own consequences.

“I tried to protect David from the fallout of Brent’s addiction.”

But it had been severe. Yet Brent had continued the gambling and tried to pull her under through all his frivolous lawsuits as he tried to extract money from her.

A few hours ago, her greatest worry was that he might succeed in one of them, and she would lose everything. Now she worried for her life. Brent had crossed a line he couldn’t come back from.

“I’ll call Cooper and have him dig through your ex’s finances,” Agent Walker stated. “If he’s behind this, we’ll find out. However, if anyone else has a grudge against you, we need to know about it.”

Both men walked out and left Darby to make her list, but she struggled to come up with names. It was difficult enough to write her ex-husband’s name on the lined legal pad they’d given her. But to list others too? She sighed, realizing that, although Brent had been the first one to come to mind, she had no shortage of names for a grudge list.

Of course, she didn’t believe anyone in her life could hire someone to murder her.

But someone had.

Brent

Her ex, of course, had earned a first-line mention. He wanted her money so he could feed his addiction. But would he make their son motherless to make it happen? She wasn’t sure, even though he’d fallen hard and fast into a deep spiral.

Recently, he’d tried to play on her sympathies by claiming to owe money to dangerous people. Maybe someone he owed wanted to get their hands on the money he owed through her?She closed her eyes and shook her head as the depth of Brent’s actions continued to affect her and David before picking up the pen and adding to her list.

2. Unknown bookies Brent owed.

Darby hadn’t expected the inheritance, since Uncle Grant had cared for her grandmother until her death. Everyone, including Grant, had expected him to inherit the fortune. Her uncle had stooped to filing a lawsuit to contest the will and try to claim the money she’d received. But her grandmother had left a note with her attorney, revealing that Uncle Grant had squandered much of her wealth, so she’d cut him out of the will. Darby’s bequest six months ago was all her grandmother had left. Her uncle was determined to get his hands on that too.