Chapter 4 - A DAUGHTER'S PERFECT WORLDAvery arrived before noon.
She ran across the porch wearing silk pajamas from her wedding night.
"Dad!"
She threw her arms around Clifford.
"What is happening?"
Clifford held her.
He could feel her shaking.
"Alan said you brought police here."
Clifford closed his eyes.
This was the part he had feared most.
Not the arrest.
Not the lawsuit.
Not losing money.
Losing his daughter's trust.
"Avery," he said softly.
"Please, Dad. Alan said you're trying to destroy him."
Clifford touched her face.
"Look at me."
She did.
Her eyes landed on the bruise.
The split lip.
The swelling.
She looked away.
"He hit me."
Avery's breathing stopped.
"What?"
"At your wedding."
"No."
"He hit me because I refused to sign the ranch away."
Avery shook her head.
"He said he lost his temper."
"He lied."
Clifford handed her a folder.
"Read it."
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
Legal documents.
Debt records.
Avery's eyes moved faster and faster.
Then she saw the forged signature.
Her father's name.
Her hands began to shake.
"Dad..."
"Keep reading."
May you like
She did.
And with every page, the man she thought she had married disappeared.
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