Chapter 7 - Adrian's House of Secrets|
Adrian had not slept.
The investigation into Richard Reynolds had uncovered a series of financial transfers that made little sense. Money had moved between legitimate businesses, offshore accounts, and companies whose registered owners were little more than names on paper.
Some transfers had been approved using Claire's old authorization.
Others had been signed by Sophia.
He stared at the records in his study.
Sophia had never shown much interest in his business. She preferred charity events, fashion launches, and expensive vacations.
Yet her name appeared on documents connected to the trust.
Adrian called his chief financial officer, Marcus Bell.
“Explain this.”
Marcus studied the papers.
“These transfers began four years ago. Your father established the trust, but Richard Reynolds became an adviser after his death.”
“And Claire's signature?”
“I can't verify it. The documents were processed through an external office.”
“Who approved them?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Your uncle, Victor.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“My uncle has been dead for two years.”
“Yes.”
“Then who authorized the most recent transfer?”
Marcus placed another page on the desk.
The signature belonged to Sophia Reynolds.
Adrian rose so abruptly that his chair struck the wall.
“Get me her current address.”
“She's at the penthouse you bought her.”
Adrian stared at him.
“I bought that penthouse. I never gave her permission to manage my money.”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“There is one more thing. A transfer was scheduled for tomorrow morning. If it clears, the trust loses control of several major properties.”
“How much?”
“Approximately eighty million dollars.”
Adrian felt the floor shift beneath him.
“Freeze it.”
“We've tried. The transfer has been authorized by a separate legal entity.”
“Then find the people behind it.”
Marcus left.
Adrian called Sophia.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Darling, I was just about to call you.”
“Did you sign a trust transfer?”
Silence.
Then she laughed nervously.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your signature is on a document moving eighty million dollars out of my family's trust.”
“I don't know anything about that.”
“Don't lie to me.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You've been treating me like a criminal ever since Claire gave birth.”
“Your name is on the paperwork.”
“Your father asked me to sign documents. He said they were routine.”
Adrian went still.
“My father has been dead for eleven years.”
Sophia stopped speaking.
The silence lasted too long.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“What did you just say?”
“I meant your father's advisers.”
“Which adviser?”
She began to cry.
“Adrian, please. I was trying to help you.”
“Help me do what?”
“Protect the business.”
“From whom?”
Sophia hung up.
Adrian immediately called his security chief.
“Find her. But don't approach her until I give the order.”
Then he opened the notebook Claire's attorney had described in an earlier message.
He had not seen it in years.
His father had left behind many documents, but this notebook contained a name Adrian had been taught never to question.
Richard Reynolds.
And beside it, a handwritten warning.
He knows what happened to Claire's father.
Adrian stared at the page.
Claire's father had died when she was young. She had always been told it was a car accident.
If Richard Reynolds knew something about that death, the betrayal was no longer limited to Adrian's marriage.
It reached into the lives of people he had promised to protect.
He picked up his phone and called Daniel Price.
“I need to speak with Claire.”
“Why?”
“Because someone may have used her identity to steal from my family. And I think the same person may know how her father died.”
Daniel paused.
“Send me everything you have. Claire will decide whether she wants to meet you.”
Adrian swallowed his pride.
“That's fair.”
May you like
For once, he did not demand an answer.
He waited for one.
