Chapter 24 - FOUR MILLION DOLLARS MADE CLAIRE LOOK GUILTY
Claire wanted to call the bank.
Naomi stopped her.
“Not yet.”
“It’s four million dollars.”
“Yes.”
“In my account.”
“Yes.”
“I did not put it there.”
“I believe you.”
“Wonderful. Tell the federal government.”
The transfer originated from an offshore account connected to Meridian.
Too obvious.
That was the point.
Someone wanted Claire frightened enough to make mistakes.
We contacted authorities through counsel.
The funds were frozen.
Every communication documented.
Claire moved into my guest room temporarily.
She hated it.
“I’m thirty-six.”
“And?”
“I should not be hiding at my best friend’s house.”
“You mocked my dinosaur sticker. This is punishment.”
She laughed.
Then cried.
I sat beside her.
“My father wasn’t a thief.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know.”
“You’re right.”
That surprised her.
I continued.
“I don’t know what any of our parents really did anymore. But I know you.”
She covered her face.
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
“Are you ever going to stop saying yes?”
“No.”
Fairness went both ways.
The forensic review found the account had been opened digitally using Claire’s identity.
The signature was forged.
The contact number belonged to a prepaid phone.
But the bank’s security logs showed something useful.
The account had been accessed from a corporate Wi-Fi network.
Whitmore Development.
Dana Reeves called personally.
“We checked building access.”
“And?”
“The login occurred Sunday night.”
“Who was there?”
“One cleaning crew. Security. And a former employee.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“Richard Lang.”
Richard still had access?
“No,” Dana said. “He entered using a temporary visitor pass.”
“Authorized by whom?”
Silence.
“Dana?”
“Derek.”
I closed my eyes.
Not again.
Derek arrived before I could call.
“I can explain.”
“People should stop opening conversations that way.”
“He contacted me three weeks ago.”
“You met Richard?”
“Yes.”
“After everything?”
“I was trying to find Veronica.”
“You didn’t think law enforcement might be interested?”
“He said he would only speak privately.”
“Of course he did.”
Derek didn’t argue.
“I made a bad decision.”
“That phrase is carrying an incredible amount of your personality.”
Claire left the room.
Derek looked at me.
“I thought I could fix something without dragging you into it.”
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The disease.”
He frowned.
“Every person in this story thinks protecting me means deciding what I’m allowed to know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“When did Richard enter Whitmore?”
“Sunday.”
“Why?”
“He claimed documents were stored in his old office.”
“You let him inside?”
“Dana approved a supervised visit.”
“So how did he access the network?”
“I don’t know.”
My anger sharpened.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“You always look at the floor half a second before you lie.”
His eyes lifted.
“You remember that?”
“I was married to you for seven years.”
He exhaled.
“Richard wasn’t alone.”
“Who was with him?”
Derek hesitated.
Then answered.
“My mother.”
Evelyn had entered Whitmore Development with Richard.
Again.
After everything.
I felt something inside me harden.
“Get out.”
“Audrey—”
“Get out.”
“She was helping me.”
“I don’t care.”
“She wore a recorder.”
I stopped.
“What?”
Derek took out his phone.
“Mom met Richard because he trusts her desperation.”
He pressed play.
Richard’s voice filled the kitchen.
“You should have taken Veronica’s deal years ago.”
Evelyn answered.
“And given her Audrey’s trust?”
“She never wanted the trust.”
“What did she want?”
A pause.
Then Richard laughed.
“Samuel’s voting shares.”
My heart stopped.
Dad’s shares.
Not my money.
Control of Vance Capital.
May you like
And according to Richard—
Veronica Hale believed she still had a legal path to them.
