Chapter 4 - THE NAME HE NEVER MENTIONED|
The safe residence belonged to the Hail Foundation's outreach program. It was a modest house tucked behind a row of trees in Coconut Grove, far from the marble halls and guarded entrances of the Keane estate.
Audrey had approved the purchase herself.
She had never imagined she would need to hide there from her own husband.
Eddie checked every room before allowing her inside. A nurse arrived shortly afterward, sent by Audrey's obstetrician. She examined her, monitored the baby's heartbeat, and confirmed that the stress had not triggered labor.
“You need rest,” the nurse said.
Audrey nodded.
But sleep was impossible.
At two in the morning, Miriam called.
“I found something.”
Audrey sat up.
“What?”
“Three shell companies received payments from the foundation over the last eighteen months. The transactions were approved using your executive credentials.”
“I didn't approve them.”
“I know. Your login was used, but the authorization came from a device registered to the Keane office.”
“Ronin?”
“Possibly. There's another name appearing in the transfer chain.”
“Who?”
“Sofia Bell.”
Audrey went still.
The photograph.
“Who is Sofia Bell?”
“Former accountant for one of Ronin's shipping companies. She disappeared two years ago after filing a complaint about missing funds.”
“Was she connected to Celeste?”
“Not officially.”
Audrey looked at the photograph again.
“Can you find her?”
“I already have someone looking.”
At eight the next morning, Audrey met Miriam at a private office near the hospital. Her attorney brought a folder thick with financial records.
“The foundation's expansion fund is short by nearly six million dollars,” Miriam said. “The money moved through three companies and ended up in an account controlled by a trust in the Cayman Islands.”
“Who owns the trust?”
“We're still tracing it.”
Audrey opened the folder.
A signature appeared on the final authorization page.
Her signature.
The letters were convincing, but the pressure was wrong. Audrey had written her name thousands of times. She knew the small upward curve at the end of the H and the way her pen dragged slightly through the final stroke.
“This is a forgery.”
Miriam nodded.
“It's good enough to fool a bank clerk. It won't survive an expert examination.”
“Who had access to my office?”
“Your assistant, the foundation's finance director, and anyone with access to the Keane residence.”
Audrey remembered the weeks when she had been ordered to rest during her pregnancy. Ronin had insisted that she stop working late. He had said he would have someone collect her documents.
Celeste had visited the house during that period.
Audrey looked at Miriam.
“I need to know how long Celeste has been involved.”
Miriam closed the folder.
“Before you do anything, I want you to consider the possibility that Ronin is not the only person lying.”
That afternoon, Eddie called.
“Mrs. Keane, I found the woman in the photograph.”
“Sofia?”
“Yes. She's alive. She's been staying in a small town outside Miami.”
“Does she know why I'm looking for her?”
“She asked whether you were still married to Ronin.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
“What did you tell her?”
“That you were safe.”
There was a pause.
“She wants to meet you.”
“Arrange it.”
“There's a complication.”
“What?”
“She says Celeste has been looking for her too.”
Audrey's stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“She has something Celeste wants.”
“What?”
Eddie lowered his voice.
“A recording.”
That evening, Audrey met Sofia in a quiet diner. Sofia was in her forties, with tired eyes and a scar near her hairline. She carried a small leather bag and sat with her back to the wall.
“You shouldn't have come,” Sofia said.
“I was told you wanted to speak to me.”
“I wanted to know whether you were still with him.”
“I'm not sure what I am anymore.”
Sofia studied her.
“Then listen carefully. Your husband didn't bring Celeste to that gala because he was in love with her.”
Audrey frowned.
“Why did he bring her?”
“Because she has something he needs.”
“What?”
Sofia leaned forward.
“Proof that he ordered the disappearance of a man who knew where the missing foundation money went.”
May you like
She opened her bag.
“And that man was my brother.”
