Chapter 11 - THE FILE THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST|
Rebecca arranged for a forensic accountant to examine the files on Gabriel’s flash drive.
I stayed out of the office while the accountant worked, but by late afternoon, Rebecca called me with an update.
“The records are concerning,” she said. “Several transactions appear inconsistent with the foundation’s stated activities. Some invoices reference consulting companies that may not have provided the services described.”
“Does my name appear?”
“Yes.”
My stomach tightened.
“In what capacity?”
“Your signature appears on summary sheets, but we haven't established who prepared them or whether the versions you signed match the versions in the accounting system.”
“I never approved payments to those companies.”
“Then we need to preserve evidence and determine whether the documents were altered.”
I sat down.
“Could Dominic have used my signature without my knowledge?”
“It is possible. But we need proof before making that allegation.”
She explained that the original records could help establish whether the accounting summaries had been changed after I reviewed them.
Then she asked me a question I had not considered.
“Did you keep personal copies of the reports you signed?”
“I kept everything Dominic asked me to organize.”
I returned home and opened the storage cabinet in my old office. For years, I had maintained paper records in labeled folders because Dominic said the family appreciated my attention to detail.
I found the annual foundation reports, the donation summaries, and the meeting minutes.
Several pages were missing.
Not torn out.
Removed cleanly from the binders.
I photographed the gaps and sent them to Rebecca.
Then I found an envelope tucked behind a folder of old insurance documents.
It contained a letter from Dominic dated three years earlier.
I remembered the day he gave it to me. He had been sitting at the kitchen table, wearing his hearing aids, and had asked me to sign a stack of administrative forms.
The letter said:
Emma, thank you for helping me keep everything organized. I know you sometimes worry that I don't appreciate what you do. Please understand that your work is essential to this family. I trust you more than anyone.
At the time, I had cried after reading it.
I had kept it because I thought it was one of the few written expressions of affection he had given me.
Now I noticed a handwritten sentence beneath his signature.
Please don't ask questions about the consulting invoices. They are handled separately.
I stared at the words.
The letter had been written before the documents were signed.
I called Rebecca.
“Can this establish that he told me not to question the invoices?”
“It may help establish context, but we need the originals and the full accounting records. Don't confront him yet.”
I carefully placed the letter in a protective sleeve.
For years, I had saved every small thing Dominic gave me because I believed our love deserved to be remembered.
Now those same habits might protect me from the consequences of his lies.
That evening, I received a message from an unknown number.
You should stop looking into the Blackwood accounts.
A second message followed.
You have no idea what your husband is capable of.
I looked at the old letter on the table.
May you like
For the first time, the threat did not frighten me into silence.
It made me more determined to speak.
