Chapter 4 - The Missing Forty Million
I was released from the hospital shortly after 3:00 a.m.
My brothers took me to Gabriel's hotel instead of the mansion.
Nobody argued.
Nobody slept.
By sunrise, we were sitting around a conference table in Gabriel's suite.
Noah opened his laptop.
“How much is missing?” I asked.
He looked at Gabriel.
“Tell her.”
Gabriel rubbed his face.
“Approximately forty-two million.”
I stared at him.
“From my trust?”
“From a family holding structure connected to all six of us.”
“When?”
“We noticed irregularities nine months ago.”
“Nine months?”
“We didn't know Adrian was involved.”
“You didn't tell me.”
“We were trying to confirm it.”
I stood.
“You always do this.”
Gabriel frowned.
“Do what?”
“Decide what I'm strong enough to hear.”
“Evie—”
“I am thirty-five years old.”
“And last night your husband tied you to a beam!”
The room went silent.
Gabriel immediately looked ashamed.
But I didn't back down.
“That is exactly why you should have told me.”
Luke leaned forward.
“We thought Adrian might be using access through you.”
“I never gave him access.”
“Not knowingly.”
That landed hard.
Noah turned his screen toward me.
“Someone used authenticated documents connected to your marital estate.”
I scanned the records.
“These signatures…”
“Digital copies.”
“I didn't sign them.”
“We know.”
Michael tapped the table.
“The documents allowed temporary collateralization against family assets.”
I felt sick.
“Adrian forged my authorization?”
“Someone did.”
I thought about the years.
Tax forms.
Mortgage papers.
Insurance documents.
Stacks of contracts Adrian used to slide across our kitchen counter.
Sign here.
Initial there.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing dangerous.
At least that was what I had believed.
“Could he steal forty-two million?”
Noah shook his head.
“Not alone.”
“Then who helped him?”
Nobody answered.
I thought of Richard.
Adrian's father had built his reputation through finance.
His mother sat on charity boards with bankers.
The Cole family had connections everywhere.
Then another name came to me.
“Samuel Price.”
Gabriel looked up.
Our family attorney.
The man who had managed my grandmother's estate.
The man who had attended my wedding.
The man who had told me Adrian was a good match.
Luke's fingers froze over his keyboard.
“What?”
“Samuel knew everything.”
Gabriel stared at me.
“Samuel retired two years ago.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“He still sends my annual trust statements.”
Noah's face went pale.
“You received one this year?”
“Three months ago.”
Gabriel stood.
“Show us.”
I pulled out my phone and searched my email.
There it was.
Samuel Price.
Annual Family Trust Summary.
Noah read the sender address.
Then Luke leaned closer.
“That's not Samuel's law firm domain.”
I stared.
“What?”
“It's one letter different.”
He typed quickly.
A minute later, his expression hardened.
“The domain was registered four years ago.”
“To who?”
“Private registration.”
Gabriel's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked at us.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
Gabriel slowly lowered the phone.
“Samuel Price was found dead this morning.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
“They're calling it a heart attack.”
Luke looked at the fake email again.
“That's convenient.”
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE MONEY ALONE.
A second message appeared.
A photograph.
It showed us sitting inside Gabriel's hotel suite.
Taken through the window.
I turned toward the glass.
May you like
Someone was watching us.
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