Chapter 12 - The Account With Daniel’s Name
The account changed everything again.
Forty-eight million dollars.
Not stolen all at once.
Built slowly.
Year after year.
Some deposits came from company money.
Others came from unexplained property sales.
Several came from trusts established by Patricia.
Daniel stared at the report.
“She put it in my name.”
Michael nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Emily understood before he did.
“Protection.”
Daniel looked at her.
“For me?”
“For herself.”
Emily pointed at the account.
“If investigators ever found the money, it would look like you benefited.”
Daniel’s face went white.
“She used me as a shield.”
Ryan cursed.
Claire sat down.
“Mom wouldn’t.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Wouldn’t she?”
Claire said nothing.
Michael turned another page.
“There’s more.”
He showed them authorization records.
The account listed Daniel as ultimate beneficiary.
But Patricia held power of attorney until three months earlier.
Then authority changed.
To Charles Benton.
Daniel whispered, “She was preparing for something.”
Emily nodded.
“Probably the legal challenge.”
Ryan paced.
“So she steals money, puts it in Daniel’s name, then uses it to argue that Emily’s ownership agreement was fraudulent?”
Michael nodded.
“Possibly.”
Claire looked sick.
“That’s insane.”
“No,” Emily said quietly.
“It’s planned.”
The next morning, federal financial investigators arrived.
The scandal could no longer stay private.
News vans gathered outside Whitmore headquarters.
WHITMORE DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVES UNDER INVESTIGATION.
Daniel watched from an upstairs window.
“This company might not survive.”
Emily stood beside him.
“Yes, it will.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because the projects are profitable.”
“The reputation isn’t.”
“Then we rebuild it.”
Daniel looked at her.
“We?”
Emily met his eyes.
“The employees didn’t steal the money.”
For the first time in days, he smiled.
Very slightly.
“You still care.”
“About the company.”
His smile disappeared.
“Right.”
Emily sighed.
“Daniel.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t.”
He looked at her.
She spoke carefully.
“I’m still angry.”
“I know.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“I know.”
“And every time I look at you, I remember you pointing at that door.”
Daniel swallowed.
“I know.”
“But I also remember the man who sat on my kitchen floor at two in the morning eating burnt grilled cheese because neither of us knew how to cook.”
He almost laughed.
“You made that.”
“You said it was good.”
“I lied.”
“I know.”
For one second, they were husband and wife again.
Then Michael rushed into the office.
“We have a problem.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Of course we do.”
“Patricia made bail.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“Her attorney arranged bond on the financial counts while the more serious investigation continues.”
Emily frowned.
“Where is she?”
“That’s the problem.”
Michael held up his phone.
“Her GPS monitoring device was found in a gas station bathroom.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“She ran.”
Michael nodded.
“And ten minutes ago, the mansion’s security system went offline.”
Emily grabbed her coat.
Daniel caught her arm.
“No.”
“My files are there.”
“So are armed security guards.”
“The original rescue agreement is in Arthur’s safe.”
Michael froze.
“You told me it was in secure storage.”
“A copy is.”
Emily looked at Daniel.
“The signed original is in the mansion.”
Daniel was already moving.
They reached the property twenty-five minutes later.
The front gates stood open.
One security guard was unconscious near the driveway.
Daniel ran inside.
“Mom!”
No answer.
Emily rushed toward Arthur’s study.
The safe door was open.
Empty.
Daniel stared.
“She has it.”
Then Emily noticed something on the desk.
A photograph.
Her wedding picture.
Someone had placed it beside a box of matches.
Underneath was a handwritten note.
Emily picked it up.
Daniel read over her shoulder.
May you like
If you want your agreement back, come alone.
The address beneath it belonged to an old Whitmore construction
