Chapter 4: The Ghost of Claire Vance**
Claire Vance had been vibrant, wealthy, and madly in love with Mark before her car went off an embankment in upstate New York. The police report at the time noted traces of prescription muscle relaxants in her system, concluding she had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Elena brought the files directly to Detective Karen Diaz, an investigator assigned to assist the precinct after Mark’s high-profile arrest. Diaz was sharp, weary, and skeptical of coincidences.
"This isn't just domestic abuse, Mrs. Vance—excuse me, Mrs. Mercer," Diaz corrected herself, flipping through the financial records. "This is systematic liquidation. Look at these transfers. Mark was funneling your personal inheritance into shell corporations while slowly incapacitating you."
"He made everyone think I was losing my mind," Elena whispered, the horror tightening around her throat. "My friends stopped calling because he told them I needed sensory isolation."
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"Gaslighting taken to a lethal extreme," Diaz agreed. "The problem is, his defense team is already pushing a counter-narrative. They claim you planted these documents to gain sole custody and strip him of his firm equity. We need hard forensic linkage between Mark and the illicit chemical compounds."
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